Neither team conceded a goal in the group stages or semi final, playing 12 matches and 96 minutes of football between them without letting a goal in. Fantastic achievement. Unfortunately one half of the team also struggled to score - not for want of trying - they created some wonderful chances and played brilliantly, but just couldn't get the ball in the back of the net through a combination of brilliant goalkeeping and rotten luck.

The other side won every one of their group games, which we've never had happen before and then won their semi final on penalties before losing the final to Broad Oak (again). All in all a really good afternoon that the boys can be incredibly proud of.

A really good morning of football. The slightly unusual format saw three seeded groups put together, which saw the boys placed in the most difficult one. No problem with that - a challenge they were well up for and one that saw them produce some fantastic football for the most part.

Langton Green Phoenix 2 - 0 TW Youth Jupiter (Finn K, Tristan)

What a start - from the off the boys looked sharp, focused and full of energy. Finn K opened the scoring with a clever flick with the outside of his foot that saw the goalkeeper wrong-footed and nearly made it two with an excellent strike that the keeper saved brilliantly. Jack stepped in in goal, with Ethan playing at the national futsal tournament in Birmingham and made a superb save to keep things in our hands. Tristan then scored a second with a brilliant low strike from Dylan's incisive pass.

Langton Green Phoenix 0 - 1 East Peckham

The lads were fantastic in this game and on another day could have won it comfortably. Three or four excellent chances were created, with Max, Sammy, Dylan and Tristan all shooting hard and low but seeing the opposition goalkeeper make a strong of fantastic saves. Will and Evan was solid and hard working at the back, Evan creating some great overlaps with forward bursts. A really clever free kick that Tristan and Sammy worked (it was Evan's quick thinking to come up with it) nearly went in and when we conceded on the break it was a disappointment against the run of play that the lads didn't deserve. That's fiesta football though and despite a brilliant last 4 or 5 minutes we just couldn't get back into the game.

Langton Green Phoenix 0 - 2 Broad Oak & Horam

Very disappointing. Never really got going against a team who always seem to beat us. Dylan and Finn K worked hard to create something but nothing was forthcoming and it was comfortably our weakest performance of the morning.

Langton Green Phoenix 1 - 1 Langton Green Giants (Tristan)

We went into this game against our friends the Giants, knowing we needed at least a point to give us the chance of going through and when we conceded after a minute I feared the worst against the strongest team in the group. The Giants are strong at the back and so getting back into the game was going to require a moment of magic, which came from a beautiful flowing move, Finn K to Sammy, whose first time switch pass to Tristan fell beautifully for him to absolutely smash into the roof of the net for the goal of the day. The rest of the game was back and forth, the Giants pressuring in the final minutes, only for Tristan to score a second with a belter of a free kick that was ruled out as it was indirect. A shame for us - would have been a wonderful winning goal but in the end made no difference to the position either us or the Giants finished in the group.

All that meant the boys finished 3rd in their group of 5 teams and got a bye (which meant a 70 minute wait) into the semi finals of the plate competition.

After a long wait in the heat this game against our good friends from Tonbridge was inevitably a bit of a flat performance. Tonbridge played better and deserved their 1-0 lead at half time with a well taken goal. Second half we pushed and pushed, a tactical switch seeing Will up front and he delivered with a wonderful turn and strike under the goalkeeper from a narrow angle. A scrappy last minute saw both teams nearly snatch a win that probably would have been unfair on whoever had conceded as overall a very even game.

Penalties turned into who missed less rather than who scored more, with 5 of the 8 penalties either saved or missed. Tiny goals and 14 year old goalkeepers tend to breed that kind of shootout but it was Tonbridge who held their nerve and went into the final, which they won. Very happy for them - nice folks and always one of our favourite opponents. Also nice to see them celebrate their penalty shootout win with decency and sportsmanship (unlike some of the teams we've faced previously).

All of which meant we got back in time to see England beat Panama 6-1.

Well done boys - you played really well today in a very very tough group.

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Sunday 17th June - Paddock Wood Fiesta

Very briefly... not a great morning for the lads. Never really got going, with the exception of an excellent defensive performance against a very very good Eastbourne side who went on to win the tournament. But at least the World Cup is under way...

Very quickly, some excellent football sandwiched in between a very sleepy first game and tired semi final saw the Phoenix finish 3rd in a group of 8 at the always strong Broad Oak tournament. Highlights included some fantastic football all over the pitch, a worldy from Finn P against a very good Pevensey and Westham team, a creditable 0-0 draw with our friends the Giants and a last minute barnstorming cameo up front from Tom that led to the penalty that Tristan despatched to send us into the knockout stages. Everyone played their part, but today (like at Langton last Saturday) the final match was a step too far and the boys looked tired. Bleep test here we come...

Some really disappointed boys at the end. Great to see they care, but I hope they take away the positives from this morning too. Well done to the Giants, who went on to win the tournament and to Broad Oak for putting on a fantastic tournament with so many matches (great referees too).

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Saturday 2nd June & Sunday 3rd June - Langton Green Fiesta

Langton Green Phoenix finish runners up in the Langton Green Fiesta plate competition for a second successive year.

As is always the case at our own Langton Green tournament, we wanted everyone involved who was available and fit, so we entered two teams into the fiesta. The squads were aimed to be as balanced as we could make them under the circumstances that we only had one dedicated goalkeeper in Ethan, so the other team needed to switch round in goal, which they did admirably. On a beautiful day, we faced some excellent teams, having a mixed afternoon on the pitch, but with every player doing themselves proud.

Langton Phoenix White 0 - 4 Hawkhurst United

Wow. What a start. Hawkhurst were a completely new team to us, never having played them before and they were excellent on the pitch, showing more desire and hunger than our slightly sleepy looking boys to go 2-0 up early on with an angled strike and a close range tap in. Half time and we saw the introduction of Sid, back for his first games in 6 months and he showed real quality on the ball. Pushing forward to get something from the game, we were hit twice on the break and whilst 4-0 was a little harsh, Hawkhurst (who went on to make the final of the cup competition) were excellent and good value for their victory. We hope to get the chance to play them again at some point and give a slightly better account of ourselves.

Langton Phoenix White 3 - 0 Wadhurst (Jack 3)

What a turnaround. From the very disappointing showing of the first game to a fantastic all round performance. Finn K and Will were brilliant at the back, Finn's passing quality and Will's strength and dribbling ability providing a great base to push forward from, with Dylan working his socks off in front of them and playing a couple of sublime passes. It was from one of these that Jack opened the scoring with an excellent strike, getting his second a few minutes later after showing some great skill to dribble through two tackles, before he finished the game off with a tap in from Sammy's unselfish pass, when Sammy had every right to shoot himself. Great to see that sort of team spirit.

Langton Phoenix White 1 - 0 T.Invicta White (Jack)

Jack once again proved to be the match winner in a very tight game against one half of our friends from Tonbridge Invicta, who were themselves straight off the back of a very impressive season in the league. End to end stuff, Ethan being called on to make a couple of super stops early on, Sid pulling the strings in midfield with some sublime touches, and largely a continuation of the good football we saw in the last game, Jack finally taking advantage midway through the match of an excellent surge forward from Richard, to score a fine goal with a fake and shot that turned his defender inside out and allowed him a simple shot into the corner. Finn K nearly made it two with a brilliant late run, but his powerful strike went just over the bar.

Langton Phoenix White 1 - 0 TW Youth (Will)

Another tough game, this one against Tunbridge Wells Youth, who defended in numbers and with real effort and tenacity. They also possessed a dangerous threat on the break and very nearly scored a good goal themselves, which Ethan did very well to save and smother. The clock ticked down, the goal we wanted not coming despite Dylan and Finn K both having good long range shots. Dylan played brilliantly in this one, seemingly everywhere and with a couple of minutes to go and the goal still not coming, we needed a change to try and make something happen. So Will back on, up front this time, and with his first touch he had the ball in the back of the net with a powerful, left footed strike from Richard's excellent forward pass. In the words of Hannibal, "I love it when a plan comes together".

Langton Phoenix White 0 - 1 ASC Strikers

An absolute pleasure to play against teams of this level of quality and also a pleasure to see our boys more than hold their own. Yes, we had to defend deep and work hard to deny this excellent team chances, which the boys did wonderfully. Finn K, Dylan, Richard, Will and Jack were all hurling themselves in front of everything, with Ethan directing them well from behind. Finn made 3 blocks in a row in one spell where I thought he would be clean knocked off the pitch with the power of the ASC Strikers' shots, but the boys stood firm. The goal that did come was a rocket - unstoppable left foot drive from a very good player that gave Ethan no chance. Sammy and Sid on at half time, both working like dervishes to keep up the good work we put in first half and with the clock ticking down, Dylan cut inside, unleashed a wonderful strike that the goalkeeper parried, Sammy following up brilliantly but seeing his shot squirm just wide. Another day that goes in and we get a draw and the boys would have fully deserved it had that been the case. Well done all - really proud of this performance from the boys.

Langton Phoenix White 2 - 0 Foresters Cosmos (Finn K, Ethan)

We knew we were going to finish 3rd in the group whatever the result here, so we switched things round and gave Ethan a much desired run out on pitch. His mum asked me what the plan was, to which I replied that he was going to score a goal, which he did, with an absolute belter of a shot after using great strength and speed to get past 2 defenders. His first fiesta goal for us on his first game out on pitch. 100% record... not bad! Jack very kindly offered to go in goal and made a couple of excellent stops, also showing real quality in possession. The game continued, good play from both teams, Finn K settling in with a goal he fully deserved after making an excellent overlapping run from defence to follow up Sammy's shot with a thunderbolt of a strike. "It came off the wrong part of my foot" he said. Who cares! I should highlight how impressed we all were with our opposition in this game, who were an U13 side playing up a year after another team dropped out. Having played up ourselves last year I know how hard it can be and they played some excellent football, conducting themselves with positivity and a great attitude. They were also the only team to score against ASC Strikers I believe, which was a great achievement. Well done all from that team - despite some tough games I hope they enjoyed themselves - a credit to their club.

Always difficult when two teams from the same club have to play each other in these tournaments. It was a tight match, either team could have won it, with the Chiefs hitting the post after an excellent move and their centre forward Ben causing us lots of problems. Despite some lovely passing from the Phoenix boys, nobody could find a way through the excellent Chiefs defence and the monumental Sam in goal until Jack latched onto a long forward pass to slot home with a couple of minutes to go. It was a good goal and saved us the possibility of penalties, but the game was very 50/50 and the Chiefs very nearly equalised late on from a header that Ethan did brilliantly to hold onto. Unfortunate for the 2 teams to have to meet at this stage and hard luck to the Chiefs, who had a fantastic day of football from what I heard.

This was the game in which the Phoenix played their best football of the day, against a very strong Invicta side who we know well and whose twin team we had played earlier in the competition. Langton dominated the opening few minutes with some lovely passing before Invicta scored an absolute worldy of a goal to take the lead with a wonderful turn and volley that gave Ethan no chance. Invicta had a good spell and were on top for a few minutes after that but the boys stayed calm, kept passing the ball well and deservedly equalised through Sammy's superb strike into the bottom corner after great combination play from Finn K, Dylan and Jack to set him up on the right. Despite pushing for a winner and a cracking save from the Invicta goalie, it remained a draw and the dreaded penalties. Sammy, Dylan and Ethan all scored, with Ethan saving the final Invicta penalty to see the boys through to the final for the second successive year. Hard luck to Invicta, who played brilliantly and were very sporting in defeat.

Plate Final - Langton Phoenix White 0 - 3 Maidenbower United

One game too far. We knew Maidenbower well, having played them twice in the league this season and knew they would be tough opponents in the final. An early goal that was well taken after some confusion in the ranks from us was a blow so soon in the game and we never really recovered, conceding a second soon after and looking absolutely shattered. Sammy very nearly pulled one back from Jack's excellent pass, but as we bombed forward looking for an equaliser we were hit on the break and Maidenbower scored a third. Maidenbower were worthy winners, fully deserving their victory in this match in which the boys just looked plain shattered after a long, hot afternoon. Frustrating not to go one further than last year but all the same, out of 28 teams in the tournament and after such a dreadful opening match, to make the final a second year in a row is a fantastic achievement and well deserved for a fantastic group of boys who gave everything. Well done all.

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Langton Phoenix Black 0 - 0 TW Youth

A frustrating opening game that we dominated but just couldn't find a way past the excellent TW Youth goalkeeper. Toby showed bags of energy and came closest to scoring, but his shot flashed just wide. Euan was solid and creative from the back and Evan and Tristan dominant in midfield but for all the possession and creativity, a goal just wouldn't come.

Langton Phoenix Black 0 - 3 Langton Giants

Always a tough challenge, the Giants are an excellent side and their clinical finishing proved the difference. Toby again had a very good chance to score and was unfortunate not to, the boys playing some really good stuff in this game but despite that just couldn't find the back of the net. Proud of their performance against the best team in the group.

Langton Phoenix Black 0 - 2 Rotherfield

Didn't see this game, but from what I heard, Rotherfield played very well and we struggled to impose outselves. Well done to the opposition - we played them in a friendly a few weeks ago and they proved themselves to be a very good team then.

Langton Phoenix Black 3 - 0 Wadhurst (Euan x 2, Toby)

An excellent performance against a very good U13 side who were playing up a year. Euan stole the headlines with two goals, both superbly taken, with Toby opening the scoring with an excellent strike. Connor was imperious at the back with Tom alongside him and Matt had a great game, almost making it four with a really good strike.

Langton Phoenix Black 0 - 3 Eastbourne

Tough. Eastbourne were superb. The boys tried their hearts out but ultimately were just playing a very very good team who oved the ball excellently. Evan was brilliant in goal, but we missed his presence on pitch and despite some lovely combinations from Tristan, Matt and Connor, a goal wouldn't come. A game we deserved to lose on the balance of play and against a team of this calibre that's fine. A learning curve and a good opportunity to test ourselves.

All that meant we needed a penalty shootout against TW Youth to see who would go through. It went on for 7 penalties each, Euan taking 2 and scoring both with emphatic strikes and Evan making the decisive save in goal to see the boys through the to plate quarter finals.

Quarter Final - Langton Phoenix Black 0 - 2 Jarvis Brook

I didn't see this game either, but it sounds like it was a tough one, against a very strong team. On another day perhaps a different result and a meeting between our two sides in the final but this time it wasn't to be. Well done to JB and hard luck to the boys. A hot day, some excellent performances and well done to all who took their turns in goal.

U15s Tournament

For a bit of fun and a challenge, we entered the U15s 5 a side tournament on the Sunday, playing up a year like we did last year. There were no expectations, just an opportunity for the boys to test themselves against bigger, stronger teams, who also happened to be of a very high standard regardless of age. Last year we got one point and didn't manage a goal, but it was still a fantastic afternoon, where the boys learned lots and enjoyed the challenge.

This year, they went one better, scoring twice and winning a game against Crawley U15s, despite being 1-0 down with 2 minutes to go. Tristan equalised with a fantastic free kick struck powerfully from range before Jack sealed it with a very well taken finish after some nifty footwork in the final minute. Evan almost made it three but was unceremoniously hauled down from behind and the resultant free kick from Tristan was blocked. Possibly one of the best fiesta games of football I've ever witnessed for drama, this was one of the proudest I've been as the coach of this team. They fully deserved their win after a tough afternoon where they worked harder than I've ever seen them work. Outstanding stuff and some lovely football at times. No team totally obliterated them and in the plate semi final against EMC Academy, they very nearly took it to penalties, conceding a sloppy goal early on before dominating much of the game and nearly equalising twice though Jack and Connor. Ethan a rock in goal, Finn K full of excellent passing and movement, Evan and Connor playing some of the best football I've seen from them and Tristan and Jack providing the cutting edge in attack. Outstanding stuff. Well done boys!

A brilliant weekend of football, topped off by ice creams for everyone!

Squad: Ethan (GK), Tristan, Connor, Evan, Finn K, Jack

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Saturday 26th May - Uckfield Fiesta

Squad: Sam (GK), Evan, Euan, Tristan, Connor, Finn K, Jack

The first fiesta of the summer, which we entered so we could get one out of the way before our very own Langton tournament next weekend, was pretty typical for a first fiesta. With 8 minute games, it was blink and you miss it stuff, with the rather odd format meaning we played our first 5 games in about an hour, followed by a 70 minute wait until our final group game, by which point we knew we were already out.

The first game was against probably the best team we've ever played, from Ifield, who were superb - skilful, fast, strong and with great movement, they seemed to have an extra player at all times and the boys played out of their skins in a 2-0 defeat to a rocket of a shot and a scrappy second. Watching how they ramped it up as the day went on, we were lucky to play them first! Very very good football.

It turned out they were the only two goals we conceded all day, with some excellent defensive play and goalkeeping from stand-in 'keeper Sam seeing us to a 1-0 win over the Uckfield side who won our division in the league this year, Tristan getting the crucial goal, as well as four 0-0 draws. 8 minute games with tiny goals don't make for much excitement unfortunately and so it proved, Finn K's powerful strike just being tipped round the post being the closest we got to a second goal, with Jack and Tristan also both having good chances from close range before Tristan succumbed to an unfortunate injury. Euan up front in the final match provided one of the highlights, turning his marker (twice) with an excellent piece of skill but just unable to get a shot away. Great stuff. Connor and Evan showed reall tenacity and strength at the back and Sam fully deserved his five clean sheets. We dominated at least 3 of the drawn games but just couldn't score, leaving the boys third in the group and missing out on a semi final place.

I was pleased with the defensive side of the game, the work we'd done in training paying dividends, as well as the intelligence the boys showed to choose a new formation after the 3rd game in an attempt to create more chances, which definitely worked - we just couldn't take them!! Well done all and nice to get the first tournament out of the way and get the gazebo up and running!

Having finished the season early due to being able to take advantage of the wonderful Bennett School 3G pitch when others were being waterlogged out of action, the boys played a series of friendlies and a 3G competition. These were a great opportunity to try a few things ahead of next season, including a new formation. We were thankful to Crawley, Tonbridge (twice), Tonbridge Invicta and Tunbridge Wells Youth for agreeing to play us and we thoroughly enjoyed the five matches against them. All were close matches, even the ones where the scorelines suggested otherwise were tight games and a useful exercise to close out the 11 a side season.

Goalscorers were plentiful and varied - Finn P (6), Toby (3), Will (2), Finn K (2), Tristan (2), Max (2), Sammy, Matt, Joe, Owen, Dylan and Evan all got on the scoresheet across the five matches, with Finn P (2), Tristan, Jack and Max getting in on the act during the 3G tournament, with the team playing some fantastic football at times.

Last week's snow put this fixture off once, so we were rescheduled for the lunchtime Mother's Day slot, against Withdean, a nice bunch of folks from Brighton.

A good start, with some excellent interplay in midfield setting Finn P through, but a well timed tackled denied him an early goal. Jack was pressuring the opposition goalkeeper well, battling with their right back in a really good physical tussle and won the ball back through pure hard work, but the 'keeper recovered well to deny him from a tight angle. Finn K and Evan played a nice one-two in the middle, the ball was passed down the wing and Finn P used great strength to hold off a defender, send in a cross, which Jack hit first time on the half-volley into the roof of the net to make it 1-0. Moments later it was nearly two, Evan hitting the crossbar with a fantastic strike from range.

The boys were keeping the ball well at the back, Ethan acting as a sweeper-keeper and switching the play from left to right. Connor, Will, Richard and Euan were passing out from the back with accuracy and intelligence, Will showing great strength to hold off attackers and even getting forward for a couple of long range shots, but we were guilty of forcing things a bit in midfield, the attempted through balls through the eye of a needle not quite coming off. A nice bit of skill from Toby on the right turned his marker inside out, a good pass through to Finn P, whose reverse pass inside the defender for the onrushing Evan was a great bit of vision. No mistake from close range by Evan after a fantastic run and 2-0.

Finn K and Tristan then combined around the box with another lovely one-two involving another backheel from Tristan and it was nearly three, but a last ditch tackle denied Finn P a shot at goal. A couple of long range efforts went over the bar, Max, Tom and Joel came on and continued the good work in possession, but Withdean defended valiantly and posed a threat on the break on a couple of occasions, only to be denied by some solid defending from Tom, using his strength and excellent decision making to win the ball and play out from the back well.

Half time and we decided to have a reshuffle, going to a 3-5-2 formation that allowed us an extra midfielder on the huge Bennett 3G pitch. It looked a bit shambolic to start with, some of the boys not quite "getting" their roles as well as they do in their more familiar setup, but they grew into it, Euan showing lots of ambition and effort on the left as a wing-back and Toby doing the same on the other side. Richard popped up in a very attacking position, getting altitude sickness in the process, but showing superb strength and pace to get into the opposition penalty box and nearly turn the ball back to Will, before Will did get on the scoresheet a few moments later after Jack dribbled into the box and cut the ball back for an emphatic finish from close range to make it 3-0. Finn K connected with a corner but his header flashed over the bar and a strike from Toby that was blocked nearly found its way to Will but some good goalkeeping saw the ball smothered. Withdean still tried to play good football, passing nicely from the back and threatened on the break with Ethan called in to catch a dangerous cross with a bellowing shout of "Keeper's!!!!" - his communication and distribution were both excellent excellent today and a quick ball forward found Toby in bags of space only for an excellent interception to deny his early pass to Max.

Finn P then got in on the act, scoring a well taken first goal after good work from Max in the middle to win the ball back and lay it through to him. Joel came on on the right, showed excellent energy to get up and down the line and so nearly get a goal for himself but his first time finish with his left foot was saved. Another goal for Finn P, this one a real peach of a strike from the right hand side of the box, arrowed into the bottom left corner of the goal, before Evan scored a header from a corner, leaping up to power home a fantastic bullet of a headed goal.

Connor was superb today, solid on the ball and strong and dominant off it, pushing forward down the right, with Finn K or Evan always on hand to drop in and cover, alongside Tom, who aside from one slightly dodgy tackle for a foul, played brilliantly today. Finn P's hat trick came from quick feet in the box and a low finish, before Withdean pulled a well-taken goal back, catching our boys napping and Tristan then put the icing on the cake with an excellent long range finish into the bottom corner to see the game finish 8-1. It was fun to try something different in the second half and aspects of it worked well. Credit to Withdean, who despite not having any subs and visible tiring in the last 15 minutes, kept going and working hard with a good attitude. Their number 2 particularly was very impressive and his battle with Jack in the first half was really good to watch.

Tom took home the man of the match award for a really solid defensive display. Well done Tom / well done everyone. It was a warm afternoon in the end and the effort, particularly from the midfield players who had to cover so much ground, was unbelievable.

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Sunday, February 25th 2018

Langton Green Phoenix 4 - 1 Montpelier Villa(Max, Finn P x 2, Will)

Match report by Steve B

Excellent team effort from Langton earns deserved victory against Montpelier

Langton Green started this match well, with some nice passing moves and good ball control. Finn P looked strong up front as the lone striker and was getting onto the ball well. The team were confident, with Evan firing off a long-range shot within the first few minutes. Finn K looked lively in the centre, distributing the ball quickly and cleverly, while alongside him Tristan was showing great footwork and good movement as Langton kept most of the possession. But the defence didn’t always look so confident during the first half. Trying to do the right thing by playing out from the back, they were sometimes too slow to play the ball forward and the whole team ended up sitting quite deep at times and enduring a couple of slightly panicky moments when the opposition got hold of the ball. Ethan as always looked commanding though, with the team happy to rely on him as a sweeper that helped them distribute the ball from side to side. Max looked like a constant threat on the right wing, using his pace, strength and lovely crosses to strike fear into the Montpelier defence. Langton’s first goal was a lovely move, started with a neat chip over the top from Evan to Finn P, the some nice interplay between him and Max, who slotted a slide-rule finish just inside the near post.

Aside from a couple of hairy moments at the back, Langton’s defence was solid. Euan launched a few well-timed and important tackles, Tom was as calm and controlled as ever, even coolly nutmegging an opposition player at one point to pass to a team mate. Richard was eagle-eyed and hard-working alongside him and Connor looked strong and surged forward at every opportunity. Jack was outstanding today – deserved man of the match. He must have covered a few miles, up and down the left-hand side, racing forward and back, winning the ball, showing lovely footwork, holding off much larger boys, and playing his team mates in perfectly. Langton looked irresistible going forward at times, with a peach of a back-heel from Tristan playing Finn P in on goal, but he still needed a good finish, which he produced on cue to put his team 2-0 up. Sammy came on looking like he’d had at least three Weetabix for breakfast, showing tremendous energy and determination, popping up all over the place to win the ball and hustle the opposition.

Langton improved in the second half, driving forward more quickly and persistently so that much more of this second spell was played in the opposition half. They dominated possession in more dangerous areas, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter attack. There was lovely stuff at times, Jack in particular playing a key role in much of the quick and clever moves. But rather against the run of play Montpelier launched a speculative long-range shot that dipped just under the cross bar at the last moment to keep them in the game. 2-1 can be a tricky scoreline, knowing that the opposition can draw level at any moment, but Langton kept cool and stuck with the game plan. Their work rate was terrific, doing everything they could to win the ball back the moment they lost it and showing plenty of fast, slick moves. Langton had a few chances at goal, but couldn’t quite deliver the killer blow despite having most of the possession. Their team work was excellent, with Matt sprinting forwards and back, and Will, who put in a good stint in central defence in the first half, now playing further forward and looking hungry for a goal.

But it was Jack again, whose skill and determination on the left wing, saw him deliver a great pass to Finn P in the centre, who scored his second with the confidence of a striker on form and gave his team a 3-1 lead. Again Jack in partnership with Finn P surged towards the goal, cutting through the opposition like a knife through butter. Will picked up the loose ball to seal his transformation from defender to attacker with a strong finish and put a little gloss on the scoreline. The final 4-1 score was a well-deserved result for an excellent performance.

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Sunday, February 18th 2018

Langton Green Phoenix 3 - 1 Maidenbower United(Finn P x 3)

Match report by Ian K

A beautiful morning for football, once again on the Bennett School 3G pitch, this time against a team who had held us to an exciting 3-3 draw earlier in the season on a cold morning in Crawley, us throwing away a 3-1 lead on that occasion. This game was not short on action, with a hat-trick, a saved penalty, plenty of excellent football, but this time the Langton boys managed to hold on to a 3-1 lead and see the game out in style.

The match started with Langton Green on the front foot, pressuring from the off and creating some good early possession. Finn K got his head to Max's corner but the ball flashed over the bar, Tristan also getting a strike on target from Evan's clever pass. We were having success down both flanks, Max attacking Maidenbower's defenders with real pace and determination, his excellent run and cross back to Finn P just not quite leading to a chance as a defender got a toe on the ball. On the other side, Jack was showing some excellent skill to beat a player, cut inside and play a lovely pass in to Finn P, who with plenty still to do from a tight angle scored one of the goals of the season with a lovely chipped finish over the goalkeeper's head and into the far corner. Excellent goal and a deserved 1-0 lead.

The boys continued to grow in confidence, Ethan distributing superbly from the back, with Connor looking particularly confident at right back and starting several attacks off with great skill and composure, Richard, Tom and Euan rock solid alongside him and playing out from the back nicely. One of the things we'd discussed on the large 3G pitch was getting players forward in support of our strikers and Tristan, Jack and Max were doing this brilliantly in support of Finn P. A great bit of possession in midfield between Evan and Finn K led to the ball being played to Connor, who fed Max, who turned and played a wonderful pass in to Finn P in the right channel. Again, with lots to do still, he shrugged off the defender, showed great strength to hold off another defender and unleashed an absolute belter of a shot into the far corner to make it 2-0. The second contender for goal of the season from the same player in the same game!! He then nearly scored again, the keeper saving, Jack then turning the ball goalwards before a last ditch leg from a Maidenbower player hooked the ball away from danger.

And then it all started to go a bit scrappy.

The final 15 minutes of the half were a huge disappointment compared to the first 20. Maidenbower take some credit for upping their game and making it much harder for us to play, but we were also masters of our own downfall, with a number of players seemingly operating on a different spacial plane from the rest of their team mates, second to every ball and short on sensible decision making with dribbling into trouble in dangerous areas and forcing passes that weren't on when a simple ball back to a team mate in space would have meant we'd kept possession. A shame... these things happen though and we rode our luck whilst playing badly, which is an art in itself.

There were still some lovely moments, Finn K jinking past an opponent with a nice shift of body weight and playing the pass of the match in between two Maidenbower defenders for Will to run on to. Toby had a great run down the left, creating a chance for Sammy, whose early shot was blocked and Joel slotted in at left back, working hard for the team and playing a nice one-two with Tristan to set Evan free on a mazy run that ended with a powerful strike that was just blocked. Richard was solid with his defensive heading particularly.

Generally though it was scrappy and scruffy and not great viewing. Half time couldn't come soon enough, Ethan called on to make one very good save just before the whistle went and a late tackle giving away a free kick that Maidenbower's goalkeeper came the full length of the pitch to take. It was a good strike, but we saw the ball out and half time a chance to regroup.

Second half started better, but both teams were looking a bit leggy and some fresh impetus was needed. Will slotted in at the back and did very well there, playing one sublime pass out from the back after winning a crunching tackle, Tom doing a great job alongside him and also picking a couple of wonderful passes from defence. Euan got wiped out after winning the ball well and passing forward and the play was back and forth, before a brilliant run down the left from Jack led to the ball being cut back to Finn P, who seemed to have taken it too far before pulling out another excellent strike, right into the bottom corner to make it 3-0. A fine hat trick.

That should have been game over, but an odd 5 minutes saw us give away a penalty with what seemed like a 50/50 challenge. The referee thought otherwise though and pointed to the spot, only for Ethan to pull off a superb save. There was then a free kick that had to be scrambled clear and a sustained period of pressure that ended in a really disappointing goal to concede, possession lost when trying to dribble out from the back straight into danger. Sloppy and deserved in all honesty. Hopefully the wake up call the boys needed.

The last 15 minutes were fairly even, Joel having a really good run finally ended with a good tackle, Finn P nearly making it 4 for him with an excellent strike that just flashed wide, Tristan on the end of a lovely flowing move that involved Evan, Jack, Finn K, Connor and Max. Superb football. The final action of the game saw Tristan and Finn P combine in the box to cut the ball back for Finn K, rushing into the box late from midfield to strike goalwards only to see his shot skim the bar. And that was the end of a good game of football that we'd have felt hard done by not to have won, but Maidenbower definitely made us work for it and played some good football of their own at times.

Some good and some not so good today, but generally I was pretty happy, particularly with our improved attacking play and support for our strikers. It's a big pitch and tough to get around for 70 minutes, so well done boys - you played well and deserved a successful morning. Man of the match was the hat trick hero, Finn P. We of course look forward to our next game, against Montpelier Villa, next week.

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Winter 7 a Side Tournament - Sunday, February 11th 2018

For a bit of half term fun we organised a 10 team 7 a side tournament on the Bennett School 3G pitch. We split the squad into two even teams, with one of them emerging as winners (James was running this team and would like it noting that he's now won 3 tournaments as a coach) and the other (my team, run with the very generous help of Julian) bowing out in the semi finals.

Match reports by Steve B and Ian K

First of all, thanks to Ian for organising this excellent 7-a-side tournament - a great afternoon’s football despite the freezing temperatures. Secondly, congratulations to Langton Green Phoenix, who were brilliant, winning every match against some tough opposition, working really hard, staying focused, playing some lovely football and looking like a well-drilled team from the first match to the end of the final. Thirdly, thank you and well done to Sam, who was outstanding in goal on loan from the Langton Chiefs, looking confident, quick and kicking with style.

Langton Green White 2 - 1 Tunbridge Wells Youth Galaxy (Jack, Evan)

In the first match against Tunbridge Wells Youth Galaxy, Jack scored the first goal early on, following up quickly on a ball that the keeper couldn’t keep hold of. This was one of the tougher teams that Langton played today, but they were always slightly quicker and stronger than the opposition. With Tom and Will letting no-one pass at the back, Evan rampaging through the centre and Jack haring up and down the right wing, Langton were simply too good. Tunbridge Wells fired a long range shot from some distance that was unstoppable and let Langton know that they were going to have to pull out all the stops, but this was the only goal they conceded all day. It was some nice skill from Matt that set Evan up with a scoring chance and … great goal! Langton were deserved winners in a hard-fought match.

A tidy start to the tournament for the Langton Black half of the squad saw Finn P score the opener after a couple of minutes with an excellent toe-poked effort, followed up by a sublime strike from Tristan, latching onto Finn K's layoff, chipping the ball up and volleying with his left foot into the far corner. The boys looked solid at the back, Euan and Connor not letting anything through and Harvey distributing the ball well behind them. The game settled into a rhythm, Sammy and Richard came on and continued the high standards their team mates has set, Max finishing things off with a lovely run down the right and finish into the corner. 3-0 the final score and a good start for the boys in the sunshine.

Langton Green White 5 - 0 Sevenoaks (Will 2, Matt, Jack, Toby)

Will did brilliantly in virtually every position on the pitch today and he turned in Jack’s pass nicely to give his team the lead while playing up front. Tigerish defending from Joel and Tom allowed Langton most of the possession up front and they put Sevenoaks under almost constant pressure. Will hit the post, then Jack was unlucky his shot went into the side netting, but Langton’s second goal was a classy one. From Matt in the centre, to Jack on the left wing, to Will on the right wing and into the goal, in one flowing movement. Matt found Tom with a nice cross, who hit the post, shot again from the rebound, which deflected out to Matt, who made no mistake with his finish. Toby was making some exquisite twists and turns on the right wing, Joel tracked back tirelessly - it was a great team effort. It was Toby’s pace that set up Jack with a chance, the goalie saved his first effort, but couldn’t reach the rebound. Then a nice run from Joel found Toby in just enough space for a tidy finish and to make it 5-0.

Langton Green Black 5 - 0 Tonbridge (Finn P, Sammy 2, Tristan, Euan)

Yes, it's true, that is Euan's name on the scoresheet. But based on his performances today, I'm not in the least bit surprised. He showed a side of his game we haven't seen too often, adding some excellent footwork, dribbling skills and finishing to his (as always) superb defensive play and the passing that he has excelled with this season. The game started with another Tristan goal, long range and sweetly struck into the corner from Connor's superb pass, followed up by a deftly flicked finish from Sammy and then a second Sammy goal that was slightly more spectacular, trademark powerful strike into the corner. Finn P got in on the action with a lovely finish from distance too and the final goal was calmly slotted home by Euan, moments after he'd had another good shot saved. Finn K nearly added a sixth, but the goalkeeper pulled off a wonderful save to deny him, before doing the same from Tristan in the final moments.

Langton Green White 1 - 0 Otford Juniors (Toby)

This team probably made Langton work the hardest for their win, with the winning goal not coming until near the end of the match. Matt was getting more confident as the tournament wore on, showing some nice skill as well as determination - his dribble across the pitch was lovely indeed. The passing and movement of this Langton team was excellent today, unmatched by any of the opposition. It was Toby to Jack to Will, whose shot skimmed the crossbar. Then Matt had a go from distance - again, just over. Tom was rock solid at the back, as the confidence flowed through the team. An absolutely cracking shot from Evan draw an equally impressive save from the opposition keeper. But this game was tight, and Sam had to stretch hard to make a good scrabbling save and keep the score level. It was very near the end when Toby found just enough space for a peachy finish that was the winning goal.

Langton Green Black 5 - 1 Uckfield (Finn P, Tristan, Max 2, Euan)

Euan had obviously got a taste for goalscoring. At least in the last game he had the excuse of playing up front, whereas he was in his more familiar position of defence for this one, picking the ball up, driving forward and letting rip an absolute belter of a shot into the top corner. A "worldy" of worldy proportions. He followed this up with a mazy run that set Max up for a long range strike that nestled in the far corner to make it 2-0. There must have been something in the water, because Richard was then following suit, dribbling down the pitch and playing a sublime pass in to Finn P's feet before Finn K picked the ball up on the left, did a double stepover, flicked the ball to the left and drove to the byline before cutting it back for Max to smash home the third goal. Lovely to see our players being positive. Harvey was a little busier in this one as our players lost a bit of disipline pushing forward and left spaces behind. A quick run off his line meant danger was averted and he kept up his excellent distribution with a couple of fine passes from the back. Nothing he could do about the Uckfield goal, a well struck finish from close range. Another goal for Finn P (great turn and insitinctive finish from Connor's excellent pass) and a second for Tristan (another long range belter) before Finn K was denied what would have been the goal of the day, Richard setting him with a lovely lay off for a superb volley that the goalkeeper did brilliantly to tip round the post. Richard nearly scored with a late flick from Max's clever corner but the ball squirmed just wide.

Langton Green White 1 - 0 Cuckfield Cosmos (Jack)

Everyone felt confident enough to turn on the style today, and Tom was no exception, making a lovely run through the middle before passing out wide to Jack, lovely turn from him and a good shot that the keeper could only just keep hold of. But Langton were doing the bread and butter stuff well today as well, with Toby and Matt tracking back constantly and Will launching some well-timed tackles. Nice save from Sam, as he tipped a powerful shot just over his crossbar. Another cracking shot from Evan on the right wing, the keeper couldn’t hold on to it and Jack was there to slot home the rebound. It was a lovely pass from Tom that found Jack, who seemed to be everywhere, in a potential shooting position. He hit the post a couple of seconds before the final whistle went.

Langton Green Black 1 - 1 Rusthall (Finn P)

This was the toughest game of the group stage without a doubt, a draw meaning the boys topped the group. A great start with Finn P volleying in goal of the day after a few minutes got the team going and despite some tidy play, Max showing great skill to drive forward down the right and nearly make it 2, the second goal wouldn't quite come and Rusthall punished some confused defending by nipping in and cleverly heading home a ball we really should have dealt with. Sammy showed some nice skill on the left, Finn K was working hard in the middle and Harvey made an excellent save to keep the scores level. Finn P and Max combined nicely to nearly make it two, but the Rusthall goalkeeper pulled off a brilliant save and the game ended honours even. A fair result in a very even game.

SEMI FINAL: Langton Green White 2 - 0 Rusthall (Evan and Will)

Langton were now into the semi-final of the cup competition, against a lively looking Rusthall side. But Langton took an early lead through Evan and their confidence was high. It was another of Sam’s great long kicks that found Will. He still had plenty to do, but showed tremendous strength and tenacity to hold of three Rusthall players before scoring a nice goal and putting his team two up. Langton could almost do nothing wrong by now, fancy footwork from Toby on the right, nice shot but saved, Jack hit the post again, a great long-range shot from Joel saved, impressive passing and movement from Toby and Jack - all great to watch. Will latched onto a loose ball and saw his shot skim the crossbar. Langton looked unstoppable as they progressed to the final.

SEMI FINAL: Langton Green Black 0 - 3 Tunbridge Wells Youth Galaxy

After a long break in what was now hail and sleet, the boys were looking visibly frozen as they took to the pitch in this one. We were shorn of the calmness in midfield of Finn K due to the break meaning his knee has siezed up (Osgood Schlatter is not a name a number of the boys will ever want to hear again after the issues they've had this year and last). Despite the ominous signs, the game started brightly enough, Langton going close through Finn P, but all in all TW Youth just looked like they wanted this more and their superb number 17 caused us all manner of problems. Having said that, giving him a clear 5 feet of space to receive, turn, look up, have a cup of tea and a biscuit and still have time to shoot didn't help our cause. A lesson for the boys - adapting mid-game to a clear danger from the opposition and figuring out how best to deal with that is an important skill in itself and in this game nobody grabbed the bull by the horns and did that. So he (17) scored a belter from long range, a free kick followed that crept in via a deflection and in a short game it was always going to be tough to come from 2-0 down. There were chances, Max bombing forward to strike just wide, a couple of corners that could have crept in, but in search of a goal we left ourselves open and the third goal was the killer blow. Credit to the boys for keeping going and not giving up, Finn P nearly scoring near the end and Harvey pulling off a magnificent save to keep the score at three. A disappointing end to the day for these lads, but lessons to be learned in these situations and hopefully they will learn them. The other half of the squad certainly handled the oppposition number 17 a lot better in the final...

FINAL: Langton Green White 1 - 0 Tunbridge Wells Youth Galaxy (Jack)

In the final Langton met the team that had knocked out the other half of their squad in the other semi final, and who looked very strong indeed. Their number 17, in particular, looked strong, fast and very dangerous. He wasted no time in racing forward and shooting, narrowly over the crossbar. But Langton didn’t look worried, nice feet from Jack giving Evan a shooting chance, only for the keeper to make a good save. Another clever pass from Matt to Jack out on the right wing, from where he seemed to take too many touches, twisting and turning, but he kept going somehow to score a great goal and give his team the lead. But Tunbridge Wells won a free kick - good save Sam - and they skewed the rebound wide. Nice header from Evan, but the keeper just touched it over. It was another good long kick from Sam that Matt ran onto, caught it with the outside of his boot first time and was unlucky to see it fly off the outside of the far post. But Langton didn’t have it all their own way, with the red number 17 looking a constant threat. Their work rate and focus was terrific though and this saw them through, even though Tunbridge Wells saw a shot fly narrowly wide near the end. All in all, a great team performance from Langton and a well-earned tournament victory.

Message from the coach...

Well done all today. Some good performances, some lessons to learn, some bizarre weather conditions. A particular shout out to Evan for doing such a magnificent job in the final keeping the very good TW Youth number 17 from getting too many opportunities, to Euan for showing some superb skills and confidence and of course to both Harvey and Sam for stepping in and helping us out in goal - both put in fine performances and we're very grateful for their efforts. Have a great half term everyone and try not to play too many video games.

Thank you also to the referees (Brian, Scott and Ben) who volunteered their time so generously and to all the teams who made today such a fun day of football. We'll try to do it again at some point.

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Sunday, February 4th 2018

Langton Green Phoenix 1 - 1 Cuckfield Cosmos(Tristan)

Match report by Ian K

Some weeks it just clicks and on others it just doesn't. It's safe to say that today fell into the latter category. A cold, windy afternoon on a 3G surface you'd think would suit the boys, especially as it's the same surface they train on every week, but probably the most disjointed performance of the season so far. These things happen...

Having said that, it all started so well...

We welcomed James H in goal, joining is this week in the absence of Ethan, and it has to be said that he was brilliant, not putting a foot wrong all afternoon with an excellent display of catching, distribution and speed of thought off his line to be an option in possession and to clear the danger.

The game began with some superb football for the first 15 minutes, with Langton in the ascendancy and probably the best team goal that I've seen from our boys in ages. Some good possession down the right wing and a nice combination between Toby and Finn K saw the latter hit Finn P with an early pass. A lovely flick from him into the path of Tristan, who swept a first time finish into the back of the net to make it 1-0 after 10 minutes and we thought we were in for a good afternoon. I was buzzing!

Unfortunately that was very much the highlight of the afternoon! There were good moments, but they were few and far between today and the majority of the play was rushed and lacking the thought we've come to expect. A couple of exceptions were the aforementioned James in goal, who was brilliant all game, Euan's strength and determination impressed me, and Finn P up front put in one of his best halves of football so far in the first half, earning himself the man of the match award, showing real strength and commitment to hold his defenders off, as well as a clever range of passing, turning and link up play.

Second half started a little better than the first half had ended, Evan had a good run and some nice link up play between Connor and Tristan gave us hope that the tide was turning, but then Finn K had to come off with an injury, Jack followed him shortly afterwards and suddenly we were struggling for fit players and struggling to play our game.

The goal we conceded was coming, a classic case of plenty of bodies in the box but no-one taking ownership for the clearance, but you couldn't say we didn't deserve to concede it - Cuckfield had played well and were unfortunate to be behind at that point. We gifted them a chance to get back into the game and their striker took it well, a lovely shot into the corner that gave James no chance in goal.

We nearly grabbed it at the end, but so did Cuckfield and in the end a draw was a fair result against a thoroughly nice bunch of folks, who played some good football. Very impressed by their captain coming over to check on our injured players at the end of the game - nice touch and says a lot about the lad. We wish them the best of luck for the rest of the season and hopefully we'll get another chance to play them later in the year.

Everybody has bad days. You see it in the Premier League all the time and anyone who's watched Liverpool this season will understand the ability of any side to go from the sublime to the woeful in the space of a week! Onwards and upwards and of course we'll look to improve for next time. Boys - you know what you need to do.

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Sunday, January 21st 2018

Langton Green Phoenix 1 - 2 Uckfield(Sammy, pen)

Match report by Steve B

Langton test league leaders with superb display of footballing skill and endeavour...

This was always going to be a touch match, against the top-placed team who have won all of their matches so far this season. The snow and rain made this particularly hard work, but didn’t dampen the spirits or efforts of Langton Green, who were fantastic at times today and rather unlucky not to have at least a draw. If points were awarded for skill and style of play then Langton would have won plenty of them today. Uckfield’s direct approach is highly effective, with lots of quick balls in to their excellent centre forward, the league's runaway top scorer. Langton put in a great display of teamwork, effort and imaginative movement.

Max posed Langton’s best attacking threat early on down the right hand side as Uckfield struggled to deal with his lightning pace and neat passing. A great cross early on found Finn P, but he was narrowly off side. Max wasn’t doing it all on his own though, there was some great link up play with Finn K and Tristan. Langton looked solid at the back, with Will in particular putting in a superbly strong and controlled performance at centre half, deservedly earning him Man of the Match. Richard was sharp, perceptive and brave alongside him as always. Full backs Connor and Jack fitted in well with their team mates, taking control of the ball and playing it forward at the right moment. But everyone had to be constantly on their guard against the Uckfield number 12, who could strike at any time.

Langton continued to apply the pressure and looked the more likely to score. Toby on the left was streaking up and down, linking well with Finn K and Evan in the centre, while Tristan was doing everything well - blocking, tackling, running and passing. But Uckfield’s long balls up to their centre forward always looked dangerous, although Langton stopped him getting too many chances. Ethan had a couple of saves to make, but he had more chance to show his skills with the ball at his feet, making several perfectly-timed runs out to intercept an Uckfield attacker and pass the ball out of danger. Yet against the run of play, Uckfield’s number 12 crafted a half chance for himself and gave his team the lead shortly before half time.

Langton might have been despondent at ending that hard-fought first half a goal down, but they continued the second half exactly as they finished the first – playing the ball out from the back, crafting some nice moves, and putting Uckfield under pressure every time they got the ball. Matt changed things up a little when he popped up on the left wing, switching the play from left to right, via Ethan, to Connor, great pass to Max, who hared away down the right hand side and fired a great shot at the keeper, who spilled it, but there was no other Langton player near him. A great move, so nearly a goal. Then Finn P had a good long-range shot saved. Langton were certainly not predictable, mixing up the play cleverly. Then it was a lovely one-two between Sammy and Jack on the left wing. Another long-range effort from Finn P flew just over.

Finn K had a good game in the centre, working tirelessly and playing some accurate passes forward. Sammy raced onto the end of one, but his shot was saved. Langton were having more of the possession and creating more chances at this stage. Then Uckfield won a corner and scored. 0-2 really didn’t reflect the match on display here today. Great credit to Langton though, they kept at it. It was the tireless brave running of Toby into the box that won Langton a penalty near the end. Up stepped Langton’s secret weapon to the penalty spot … Sammy scored his 20th penalty out of 20 – what an incredible record. At 1-2 and with less the five minutes to play everybody thought Langton could nick the equaliser. They certainly did their best and Max had another good shot saved right at the final whistle, but today it simply wasn’t meant to be. Well done to Langton Green Phoenix for a superb effort, but it simply didn’t quite pay off today.

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Sunday, January 7th 2018

Langton Green Phoenix 2 - 1 Newhaven(Jack, Toby)

Match report by Steve B

Professional and gutsy performance gives Langton Green the edge...

This was always going to be a tough game, against a very good team that had beaten the boys 5-2 before Christmas, but Langton set about this match in a professional manner, working hard, making good decisions and staying focused. This was an excellent all-round team performance, with every player giving their all for the team.

Newhaven came at Langton with verve and style from the whistle, forcing Ethan to make a save very early on. During the first half Newhaven had more of the possession and always looked dangerous, having several good runs on goal and several well-taken corners, but the defence kept their cool and Ethan was outstanding, making several excellent saves and spreading his confidence to his team-mates around him. At the other end, Newhaven had some particularly good, fast and clever defenders of their own who didn’t allow the Langton forwards a spare inch of space. Tristan looked sharp and lively the whole match, turning in a true captain’s performance. It was his ball to Max, via Evan, that came back to him in a shooting position. It was only a half chance, but the quick, decisive passing was impressive. Langton were playing deep early on, soaking up the pressure and breaking quickly on the counter-attack. Much of the forward movement came via Evan and Tristan in the centre, with Sammy, Max and Finn P providing the forward runners.

Jack was making some fast and clever runs down the left. He was making long passes, short passes, and passing and moving well. It was after one of his runs he found Finn P in a good position. It was a great shot that looked like it was going in, but narrowly wide. Newhaven continued to pile on the pressure, winning a couple more corners, and their number nine looking a constant threat with his pace and strength. But Langton put together some good forward play of their own, via Finn K, Tristan and Finn P. Evan had a long range shot of his own to keep the opposition on their toes. More good pressure found Jack in some space on the edge of the box, who placed his shot perfectly low and just inside the post to give his team the lead. Perhaps it was the cold weather or the long lay-off, but Langton suffered a lot of injuries today, to Connor, Finn K, Max (hope they're all feeling better already), and this forced a bit of a change around on the pitch. With Matt at right back, Jack was able to play further forward, while other players were switching positions into unfamiliar roles. The change around worked well, but Newhaven were spurred on by going a goal down and it was their number nine who found the smallest bit of space through the centre to chase the ball down on his own and his shot left Ethan no chance as Newhaven drew level. Langton defended well for the rest of the first half, with Tom making a couple of excellent well-timed clearances and Richard looking brave and quick and making some lovely headers. To their left, Euan was stopping everyone in their tracks, repeatedly making the right decisions with great split-second timing and tidying up any balls that came his way. One Newhaven corner in particular gave Langton a scare, but they held on well for a deserved half-time draw.

Newhaven continued the second half as they had finished the first, with a lot of good possession, and plenty of corners. Euan continued to keep the attacks at bay from left back, displaying hidden strengths in his shoulders, with Matt doing something similar on the other side. Playing in an unfamiliar position, Matt looked confident and played some clever balls forward, enabling Jack ahead of him to probe much further forward and use his pace to trouble the Newhaven defence. Down the other end, a clever turn and pass from Tristan gave Max the chance to put in a lovely cross. Max was now causing problems for Newhaven on the left side - one of several changes today that worked a treat.

Newhaven simply kept coming, and it took a wonderful goal-line clearance from Richard immediately followed by a great save from Ethan to stop them taking the lead. But after each Newhaven attack, Langton launched their own counter-attack, with Sammy and Toby displaying one lovely example of quick inter-play that out-foxed the opposition. Langton’s second goal was a beauty, and it started with a lovely long kick out from Ethan, direct to Max at around the half-way line. Max turned and skipped away from a Newhaven player beautifully and raced off down the left wing. It was a great cross to Toby in the centre, who had worked himself into the perfect shooting position. From there he took the perfect shot, low and hard into the corner, 2-1! Great goal, simple but perfectly executed.

The rest of the second half was mainly about calm effective defending of their lead by the whole Langton team. It looked professional and worked well. They didn’t ignore chances to attack, but knew that 2-1 would be a great result. They still won a couple of corners and Finn P saw a cracking shot fly narrowly wide. Evan also made a brilliant solo run past a couple of defenders and almost created a scoring chance for himself. But it was really all about the defending for the last ten or 15 minutes. Ethan made another couple of brilliant diving saves, Euan and Richard were incredibly strong at the back, and all their team-mates helped them out. It still took brilliantly brave dive at feet from Ethan with strong backup from Tom right at the last to preserve the lead. But the whistle finally went and Langton had done it. A truly heroic performance at times - well done to the whole team!

Manager's note: I was really impressed with the grit and determination shown by the boys today. At times they were under a lot of pressure from a very good Newhaven side who play excellent football, but they hung in there and played some very good stuff of their own at times. The goals were both well worked, the second one particularly pleasing due to the excellent distribution from Ethan in goal that led to the ball being in the back of the opposition net less than 10 seconds after it left his hands. One particular highlight of Manchester City's play this season has been the distribution from their Brazilian 'keeper, Ederson, intelligent and the first line of attack rather than aimless hoofs up the pitch and this piece of play from Ethan was similar. Injuries meant players had to shuffle around and play different roles. 5 of our 13 outfield players suffered with knocks or strains today that led to them having to come off, with 3 of them unable to continue at all, so the fact that everyone chipped in, with many playing unfamiliar roles was pleasing. Seeing our centre forward clearing the ball off the line and one of our creative midfielders doing a great job at right back, was testament to the adaptability of the boys. Man of the match was shared between Ethan (superb in all departments today) and Euan, who gave a wonderful performance at left back, passing well from the back and defending resolutely. Well done.

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Sunday, December 3rd

Uckfield Grasshoppers 2 - 1 Langton Green Phoenix(Finn P)

Match report by Ian K

So, into December and still without a cancellation - the weather has been kind, but judging by the state of the pitch we turned up to play on, perhaps not kind enough in Uckfield. Credit to Uckfield Grasshoppers for getting the game on, but this was not the pitch to play on if you were trying to play good quality football, with some of the stickiest mud ever seen and a quagmire on one wing that meant passes on the floor simply stuck in the mud! Up against the runaway league leaders, who boast a striker who has scored more goals on his own than some entire teams have so far this season, we knew we were in for a challenge.

So it was with great pleasure that we came away from the game at the end having played some simply sublime stuff at times. In terms of long term development of the team, today was a huge step in the right direction, every player working so hard for their team mates, some real quality and hard work in possession and for long spells a dominant display across the pitch that just wasn't converted into a winning scoreline.

Poor start - 1-0 down to a goal where the opposition star striker was given way too much time and space (frustrating as that's exactly what we'd talked about making sure didn't happen before the game) but it was a well taken finish that showed why he's top scorer in the division. The boys settled into the game well after that and some early through balls to Finn P and Toby were given offside with the goal looming. Uckfield were threatening on the break, Euan making one superb tackle and Ethan a cracking save with his elbow to deny them further goals and it was all in all a really good game of football at this stage.

The midfield passing from Finn K and Tristan was wonderful and their tenacity and work rate to win the ball back an example to everyone. Jack was his usual hard working self on the left, pushing forward and tracking back with equal vigour and showing quick feet to beat players time and time again. Evan was everywhere, denying the opposition space and time and dominating the central areas. A really good 20 minute spell didn't translate into a goal, despite some lovely possession and when Uckfield had several corners in a row, the pressure told and a bobbling ball was turned in to put us two down, a scoreline we felt rather hard done by. Add to that Euan sadly having to limp off (I apologise to the ref for making the subsequent change without asking him) and Sid also struggling with an injury that curtailed his involvement and the gods were against us. Hopefully both boys will be back in action ASAP and I should say how well Euan was playing up until that point.

So - how would the boys respond? Superbly was the answer. Will came on in the unfamiliar role of centre back and was simply outstanding. From this moment on, they played exceptionally well - probably the best spell of football I've seen from them all season, first to the majority of 50/50 balls, some Barcelona-esque pass and move triangles to work their way up the pitch and some clever forward balls that played the likes of Sammy, Max and Toby through out wide, with Finn P pulling defenders this way and that up front. We felt a goal was coming and so it proved, Finn P made a great run through, receiving the ball in space and rifling an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner from a long way out to make it 2-1 and game on.

Half time came too early for us as we were enjoying a good spell, but it gave us a chance to regroup and the second half was one of the most enjoyable 35 minutes of football I've had the pleasure to be involved in as a coach. Every single boy gave every single bit of effort possible to try and get something out of this game in terms of a result. And they fully deserved to. Uckfield defended well, were dangerous on the break, their goalkeeper was excellent and they played the game in the right spirit, but I don't think anyone watching this match could try and claim that Langton didn't deserve something from it.

Second half, Max was on fire, bursting forward down the right and then in central areas, playing some wonderful passes forwards. Toby's energy up and down the left side of the pitch was a joy to watch an Sammy played some sublime crossfield passes. Defensively, I was so impressed - Connor at right back was an absolute terrier, winning tackle after tackle and showing what a good footballer he is on the ball too, with Richard and Will keeping the opposition striker under control superbly. And of course Jack at left back was a constant forward threat and defensively didn't let anything through.

Finn K and Tristan continued to link everything, also helping out with several crunching defensive tackles, with Evan playing really well just behind them. And Finn P's movement up top was a real threat constantly, doing lots of the hard work to create chances or drag defenders out of position.

We had chances - lots of them - but the ball just wouldn't cross the line. A combination of blocks, saves, stuck in the mud and just plain bad luck saw plenty of chances that on another day would have been buried in the back of the net into scraping the post and looping over the bar. Evan had a strike superbly saved, Will had a shot whistle just past the post, Finn P was tackled at the last second when about to shoot, Toby had a chance from Max's cross that looped over the bar in the closing minutes and despite every single bit of effort being expended on the pitch by every single boy, the final whistle went to leave the match finishing 2-1.

Man of the match went to Tristan - well done. Fully deserved for effort, work rate, quality and decision making, but in truth everyone showed those qualities today and it wouldn't have been unfair for me to name any of 7 or 8 boys as MOTM today. Connor and Evan deserve special mentions, as does Will for filling in in a position he never usually plays and giving us 100% and defending brilliantly.

Thank you to Uckfield, who were excellent hosts (tea and coffee very much appreciated) and well done to them - they play the game in the right spirit and take their chances well. We wish them luck in their remaining games and look forward to another close game after Christmas.

Some you win, some you lose. A performance like this on a pitch like this against the runaway leaders in our division leaves me incredibly proud, excited by the football I saw and hugely hopeful about the long term future of this team if they continue to show this level of commitment. Well done all - build on this - don't let the levels we saw today drop and we look forward to 2 x home games in a row now where we'll be looking to continue this form and hope results follow.

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Sunday, November 26th

Langton Green Phoenix 2 - 0 Montpelier Villa(Max, Finn P)

Match report by Steve B

On a bright cold morning down Brighton way the Langton Green Phoenix showed that they have got their mojo back with their second impressive win in a row. They have recovered brilliantly from a dip in form and a couple of dodgy results. This was a great display from the whole team, showing tremendous effort, commitment, team work, and some lovely football. If it wasn’t for some great goalkeeping from the opposition Langton could have scored a couple more second half goals.

It started off a little scrappily, with neither team able to keep the ball nor show much fluency. But after a lost football and a short break for Langton to change their tops after the ref decided both teams were too white, the game restarted with a little more purpose. Some of Langton’s best movement was down the left, starting with Jack, then via Sammy, Finn K, Tristan and Finn P. And it was good work from Jack that gave Finn P the chance for the first shot on goal from either team after about 10 minutes. Jack had a go himself soon after, but it was just over. Evan was working incredibly hard as usual in the centre, winning the ball, driving forward, but also tracking back. It was a well controlled header from Finn P that put the ball in Max’s path. And Max was away, with a quick dribble round a defender and a strong low shot into the corner. 1-0, nice goal!

Richard and Connor looked in complete control at centre half, playing forward intelligently and playing it calm at all time. With Joel at right back and Jack at left back, the four defenders were communicating well and covering for each other when necessary. Montpelier probably had more of the possession in the first half, but they couldn’t get past the defence and Langton were quick to win the ball back and used it intelligently when in possession. Montpelier had a couple of long-range shots that Ethan dealt with superbly. Euan came on to continue the strong defensive line, making a couple of perfectly timed interceptions.

A good pass from Will sent Max on his way once more hurtling down the wing, he put in a nice cross, but none of his team mates could quite get there. Moments later Matt popped up in a little space on the left about 20 yards from goal and so very nearly scored the goal of the season. It was a superb curling shot that left the keeper no chance and looked destined for the far top corner. But somehow it bounced back out and across the face of the goal. The first half finished 1-0 to Langton.

Langton continued their supreme effort and work rate into the second half, but now they started to dominate the match, even though Montpelier were well drilled and a bigger side. Tristan turned a defender inside out as he came in from the right, crossed nicely, Matt was there, but a good save from the keeper. Moments later, Ethan had to make a sharp save at the other end, but the opposition weren’t getting too many chances as Langton constantly put them under pressure. Matt had another long-range, much less spectacular shot saved. Then he played Finn P in cleverly, who sent Max whizzing off again, but the keeper was in the right place again. In fact, the Montpelier goalie made several brilliant saves in the second half as Langton got shot after shot on target but just couldn’t find the back of the net. Max was getting plenty of service out on the wing, finding just enough space to get on the end of balls from Finn K and then Evan, but he couldn’t quite get the ball past the keeper.

Finn P and Tristan also had shots on goal and it seemed that a Langton goal must come at any minute, particularly while their defence looked so strong. Connor was showing Montpelier how powerful his shoulders are, while Richard displayed the strength of his headers, while Euan and Joel played clever passes forward. But as the second half wore on, and it stayed 1-0, there was some apprehension, among the supporters at least, that Montpelier might just sneak a goal in against the run of play, particularly when they won a free kick in a dangerous spot. Then it took a brave save at feet from Ethan at a heart-stopping moment to preserve his team’s lead

But then Matt won the ball in the centre, drove forward and played Finn P in one-on-one with the keeper, from where he slotted the ball into the bottom corner to given Langton the two-goal cushion they needed. In the dying minutes, a nice touch from Will gave Toby the chance to show his electric pace and shooting prowess, but yet again the keeper blocked the shot. It finished 2-0 to Langton Green, on balance a deserved victory in a tight game against a very good team.

Manager's note: youth football can throw out some strange results from week to week. Teams that look unbeatable can suddenly lose convincingly and one good result can prove very easily to be a false dawn if confidence turns into complacency. With that in mind, we asked the boys to follow up last week's fine victory with proof that they can bring those levels of effort, work rate and team spirit to every game and not let it be a one off. They delivered in spades today, throughout the team giving everything against a very well organised Montpelier Villa team who were comfortable on the ball and who kept possession well. Connor earned the man of the match award this week (and went home without collecting it!!) for a wonderful defensive performance at centre back that showed intelligence and awareness, but mostly for doing all the simple things incredibly well - a skill which is hugely underrated in football. Also important to note the excellent spirit in which the game was played and the fine performance from the referee. Well done all - next week a tough test against Uckfield, who have won every game they've played so far and look to be in excellent form. We look forward to a stern test that I'm sure the boys will be well up for.

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Sunday, November 19th

Langton Green Phoenix 4 - 1 Marle Place(Sammy 2, Evan, Finn P)

Match report by Ian K

A beautiful morning, a home game (finally!) and a goalscoring debut for Finn P, who joined us just last week.

It has been a challenging few weeks for the boys, with a few things not having gone their way. For a team who are used to winning games, the question was how they would handle and respond to the more challenging league they now find themselves in and the reality of a couple of less positive results. Today, against a team who comfortably beat us just 2 weeks ago, the boys gave an emphatic answer to that question. Was it the perfect performance? No, of course not, but it was a display full of character, effort, skill and without a doubt the best team performance of the season. As something to build on, it was an excellent step in the right direction.

The game started at a brisk pace, Langton Green keeping possession well, nearly finding a way through in the first minute with an early pass over the top to Max, who was well tackled after cutting round the outside and looking to cross. A lovely bit of interplay between Tristan and Finn P created another opening, but our opposition's strong central midfielder snuffed out the chance. A foul on Evan in the middle of the pitch gave us a shooting chance and up stepped Sammy to dispatch a wonderful free kick right into the roof of the net. 1-0. Of course we went 1-0 up two weeks ago against this team and we all knew what happened then, so with just a few minutes gone we weren't taking anything for granted!

The next 10 minutes were very pleasing. On the ball we looked quick and smart in possession and off the ball we were compact and hard to break down. Marle Place threatened with several high balls, but our back 4 of Tom, Richard, Jack and Connor were equal to everything that was thrown at them and Ethan's communication, catching and distribution were of a really high standard in goal. A good bit of interplay at left back between Jack and Richard fed Finn K, who received the ball on the turn, looked up and curled a beautiful pass into the path of Sammy, who had made a perfectly timed run in behind the opposition full back. A long way to goal and still with bags to do, Sammy's first touch took the ball out of his feet, his second set himself and his third was a lovely, curled finish into the bottom corner. What a good goal - from back to front in 5 or 6 touches. Superb.

Suddenly it was 2-1. I didn't see what happened because I was talking to one of our substitutes about coming on, but the finish was well taken by Marle Place and the game was now poised on a knife-edge. How would the boys respond? Marle Place were now buzzing, we looked a bit panicky and the game swung back and forth. A couple of scrappy clearances and we were giving possession back and finding ourselves under pressure. An excellent early ball forward from Tom found Evan, who combined well with Tristan to send Finn P on his way. His well-taken first touch lobbed the defender, but the shot squirmed just wide. No matter - a minute later and he was dropping deep, setting Tristan, whose through ball found Max burning through on the right, just getting to the ball ahead of the goalie, but his dinked finished was well saved and the subsequent corner scrambled away.

Cue some changes, Toby on the right and Will on the left both having some lovely combinations with Evan, Tristan and Finn K in midfield, whilst Joel came on at right back and Sid in the middle and kept things ticking over nicely. A wonderful run from Jack from left back nearly ended in a goalscoring chance, but Will's pass back to Jack was just cut out by a good bit of defending from MP. The final 5 minutes of the half were our weakest spell of the game, scrappy and losing possession too easily, but we saw it out to the break with minimum fuss.

Half time and we talked about whether to change anything and what was going well. The boys had worked hard, but knew there was lots more hard work to come. Good to hear some intelligent suggestions coming back from them when we asked the questions. Second half I was hugely impressed with how they responded to the game situation. Tom and Richard were back to their absolute best at centre back, clearing everything, communicating well and passing out (as in passing the ball, not "passing out" ;-)) with intelligence. Finn P continued to make some excellent runs, combining well with Sammy on a number of occasions, one particularly nice one-two sending Sammy free in the penalty box, a suggestion of a foul that could have led to a penalty, but Sammy stayed on his feet and cut the ball back nicely for Will, whose movement had given him a chance but the shot was well blocked.

A cracking bit of skill from Toby saw him get a lovely shot away after he turned his defender inside out and some of the football from Tristan, Jack, Finn K and Evan in midfield was sublime at times. One of the best passes I saw all morning from Tristan sent Finn P through, he beat his defender brilliantly and absolutely smashed a shot towards the top corner, only for it to bend away in the final seconds and go agonizingly wide. Moments later and he shimmied through 2 players before seeing his shot go just past the far post. Every time Marle Place had the ball at the back, our forwards were making it hard to play out, Sammy showing bundles of energy off the ball and Will, both Finns, Tristan and Max backing him up. At the other end, Ethan continued to dominate high balls and distribute intelligently and Richard and Tom were staying compact and solid in front of him.

A goal was coming, we sensed. And so it proved. With 5 minutes to go and Marle Place having just had their best chance of the second half (hugely impressed with the numbers back to deny their excellent striker), Sammy drifted in a corner that Evan headed home with aplomb, having outjumped his marker who was taller than him. A great header and thoroughly deserved by a player who gave absolutely everything today.

Bridget brought me a cup of coffee (thank you), Marle place went forward again, Connor defending wonderfully with a superb tackle at right back and a really good piece of forward play, passing and moving to bomb forward and play Toby in, who so nearly got a shot away but for a really solid last-ditch tackle from a MP defender.

Joel stepped out to right wing, somehow ended up in the number 10 position, dribbled through two defenders and was fouled right on the edge of the box. It was an excellent run from Joel, who is used to playing further back and showed how skilful he can be with the ball at his feet. With our usual free kick taker, Sammy, off the pitch, we looked to Finn P to step up and step up he did, curling an absolute peach of a free kick into the top corner to cap off a fine debut display with the goal he deserved for all his hard work. Really pleased for him. Well done.

And that was that. The full time whistle went seconds later. A tight game, with some really excellent football, but what pleased me most were the effort levels. Outstanding work rate and movement from our forward players - Sammy had his best game for the team in my opinion, particularly off the ball where he worked really hard. Finn P was excellent on his debut, Tristan gave an absolute captain's performance and every single one of the boys who played today can be really proud of themselves. But man of the match went to Evan, selected from two or three candidates by his captain. We asked Evan to play a deeper role, protecting the back 4 and plugging the gap that can sometimes open up between defenders and midfield and he did it superbly. Well done Evan. He picked his gran as supporter of the match and whilst she very kindly tried to suggest one of the boys should have the Mint Aero she was awarded, I think she earned it! Thanks to Justin for running the line, to all the parents, grandparents and brothers and sisters for their support and to our referee, who was one of the best we've had.

Back on the road next week with an away trip to Montpelier Villa, a side we have never faced before and who we look forward to playing hugely. Well done all - really proud of you today. See you Tuesday for training.

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Sunday, November 12th

Newhaven 5 - 2 Langton Green Phoenix(Toby, Tristan)

Langton leave their show of character and skill too late...

The big question before this match was how the team would react after their thrashing last week at Marle Place. The answer during the first half of this match against the division’s second-placed team was, unfortunately, not particularly well. This did not look like the all-conquering team of last season, as they struggled for possession, ideas and, for long spells, to even get out of their own half. At half-time they were lucky to be only 0-3 down – it could have been much worse if it weren’t for some great saves by Ethan. But everyone involved with this team knows it has great depth of character, and they showed huge resolve to pull themselves together in the second half and start to play like we all know they can.

So Ethan was deservedly Man of the Match on this freezing cold morning by the seaside, and he was kept busy during the first half in an effective damage limitation exercise. Make no mistake, Newhaven are a good team, Langton were making them look even better. There were some good dead-ball kicks from Sammy and Max, and flashes of nice passing between Jack, Toby, Tristan and Finn, but generally this was a lacklustre half of football for Langton to forget. Newhaven scored three goals in quick succession to give themselves a comfortable lead at half time, but they could reasonably have had many more.

The coaches had a few words at half time and the boys looked much more for up for a game of football at the start of the second half. But there was nothing they could do about the fourth goal - a superb strike from considerable distance by Newhaven. They came close again moments later, but made no mistake with their next opportunity soon after. At 5-0 only ten minutes into the second half, Newhaven must have thought their work was done. But then, after a slight tactical rearrangement and a supreme effort from the whole team, Langton Green slowly but surely started to remember how well they can play football when things are going right. For the last 20 minutes or so they played really well, and if the game had gone on for another 20 minutes they may even have given Newhaven something to think about.

There were some nice clever one touch moves down the left from Tristan, Jack and Evan, with Evan one of the first to have a punt at goal. Max was breaking forward with dangerous intent down the right, with Matt starting off one or two attacks from right back. It was a nice ball over the top from Evan that found Toby one on one with a defender. Toby held him off well and slotted a nice finish into the corner to rescue some pride for the Phoenix. The play was now all in Newhaven’s half and Langton had most of the possession for the first time in the match. What a transformation – Langton were moving the ball quickly, cleverly and with real intent. A forward ball to Tristan still left him with lots to do, but now the confidence was flowing through the team and he scored their second with a well taken strike. Langton were playing excellent football when the final whistle went, but unfortunately they had left it far too late to turn on the style.

Next week, the Phoenix have to face Marle Place again. Let’s hope the whole team can play the whole of that match in the same way that they finished this one.

Manager's note: every team who is prepared to try and progress and look for challenges will face tough spells. It's inevitable in any sport. We wanted more of a challenge than the Crowborough League was giving us last season and we're definitely getting that. The boys will get through this spell and be all the stronger for it. Well done to Newhaven - they are a fine team - and we look forward to playing them again later in the season. Highlight of the game for me - our captain showing what being a captain is all about, leading by example and making sure his team mates were okay when one or two of them were struggling for confidence.

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Sunday, November 5th

Marle Place 7 - 2 Langton Green Phoenix(Max, Will)

Langton Green Phoenix’s winning streak comes to dramatic end at Marle Place

Today’s match was played at The End of the World Recreation Ground, and while this result wasn’t quite the end of the world for the Langton Green Phoenix it did the mark the end of a very successful unbeaten run in league matches that had lasted for over a season. This was a wake-up call for the Phoenix, who may have begun to think that they were invincible. They came up against a very strong and well organised Marle Place team today that brought this hitherto very successful Langton team back to earth with a bump.

Marle Place were up for this match from the very first whistle, immediately putting Langton under pressure. The whites were struggling to get hold of the ball for the first 10 minutes. Jack looked one of the most lively Langton players during this early spell, posing one of the few goal threats to Marle Place, high up on the left. Connor was keeping possession well at right back and playing the ball forward nicely, but Langton were generally second best in this early period. It was one of their hardest workers, Tristan, who won a free kick in a central area. He played it long to Max, high up on the right wing, who out-paced his marker and converted his chance with style to give his team the lead, albeit somewhat against the run of play. But in less than a minute, Marle Place had equalised and the advantage was lost. Langton created a few good moments of build-up play, via Finn, Tristan and Will, and Tristan once found himself in a great goalscoring position but was narrowly off-side.

Marle Place were often too strong for Langton, who were making a few too many errors at crucial moments and were soon 2-1 up. Marle Place weren’t giving Langton any chances, but Will managed to find a yard of space, took a lovely side step and launched a cracking shot, but just wide. It was a long ball over the top from Marle Place that created their third goal. Their three big attacking players were simply too much of a handful for Langton. There were some good points, however, with Joel getting forward from left back to launch a long-range shot. Tristan was working his socks off for the whole match, winning the ball, defending, and looking to create passing moves. Tom was at full stretch to block a couple of goal-scoring chances from the opposition. And Max sent one or two lovely crosses over, but no Langton player could quite get on the end of them. It was a simple turn of speed from a Marle Place attacker that created their fourth goal. Ethan made a good diving save to prevent further damage and Langton were trying to play forward via Sid, Jack and Max, but the team were on the ropes by the end of the first half, which ended 1-4.

Marle Place did not let up during the second half, and had a decent scoring chance within the first 30 seconds. Moments later, another well-worked goal and the score was 1-5. Perhaps the defensive tackling and marking wasn’t all it should have been, but cracks were appearing across most of the Langton team by this stage. The Phoenix did well to win a corner, and it was beautifully taken by Sammy, but nobody was there to meet it. And then again, moments later, Marle Place scored again to make it six. Within minutes, they hit the post, then Ethan had to come rushing out to bravely block an attacker and prevent the seventh goal after a poor back pass. There were glimpses of the Langton Green that we saw last week when they were so very good. For example, Sid won the ball in the centre via some hard work and nice skill, sent a lovely ball forward to Will, who still had lots to do but finished with style to give his team a second goal. Finn, Tristan and Jack, in particular, were battling constantly to win and retain the ball in a meaningful way. But this Marle Place team were excellent today, and they had the wind in their sales by this point. Langton perked up for a 10-minute spell and started to string a few passes together – they even looked briefly like they might mount a serious fightback. A lightning quick turn from Max in front of goal enabled him to shoot, but the keeper was equally quick. But then Marle Place turned the screws again and scored a seventh goal. This was a chastening experience for Langton Green and it will be a test of their collective character to see whether they can bounce back next week against more tough opposition.

Manager's note: games like this happen occasionally in football, to every team at every level. What is important is how the individuals involved bounce back. The disappointing thing for me today was a distinct lack of effort from a number of the boys. I don't want to tar them all with that brush, man of the match Finn a great example to some of the others in terms of what you want to see, battling right to the end despite the lost cause.

Absolute credit to Marle Place, who were comfortably the best side we've played in a very long time and thoroughly deserved a win where they worked harder, ran faster, talked more, were more skilful, tenacious and powerful than our boys. They also did all of that with a great attitude, which was a pleasure to see - well done to all involved there. We play them again in 2 weeks time and let's hoep there's a response we can all be proud of.

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Sunday, October 29th - Mid-Sussex Cup

Hassocks Juniors 3 - 2 Langton Green Phoenix(Matt, Jack)

Match report by Steve B

Langton knocked out of the cup with a last-ditch goal, despite a great second-half comeback...

This was Langton’s toughest test yet in the Mid-Sussex league, playing a cup match against an excellent team from the division above. Langton played brilliantly, displaying some lovely footballing skills and thinking, but were ultimately undone by Hassock’s strength, direct approach, and last-minute winning goal. Langton Green excelled themselves in terms of effort and character, coming back from 0-2 down at half time to look the more likely winners with minutes to spare, only for Hassocks to score the winning goal with literally the last kick of the ball.

This was a large pitch that was difficult to cover for this age group, but the resulting gaps made this match extra challenging. Langton tried to pass the ball around from the first whistle, and Tristan got a good cross in from the right, but it was just too far ahead of the onrushing Sammy. Meanwhile, Toby was working his socks off up and down the right wing, winning the ball, dashing forward, and always tracking back too. Hassocks were strong in midfield and looked fast and dangerous in attack, although Langton were defending well. Good build-up play from Toby and Tristan gave Finn a chance to turn and shoot, but narrowly wide of the post. Max was ploughing a high-speed furrow on the right wing, up and down, working incredibly hard, but Hassocks were giving nothing away. This was a good even match with Richard and Tom looking assured in central defence, despite the pressure from the big, fast and clever Hassocks forwards. Sammy got himself into a good position to pull the ball back to Finn, who was able to fire a long-range effort goalwards, but again narrowly wide.

Langton Green were looking confident, had more possession and more ideas. Sammy made a peach of a turn on the right wing and got a good shot away, but just into the side netting. At the other end, Ethan was looking masterful between the posts, marshalling his defenders well, collecting and passing the ball out with style. Evan made a strong run to the touchline and pulled it back nicely for Toby, whose shot bounced off the underside of the cross bar only to land just the wrong side of the touch line. Langton seemed the more likely to score at the this point and could consider themselves slightly unlucky not to be one or two up. Finn worked himself another long-range shooting opportunity, but again narrowly wide. But then a momentary lapse of concentration somewhere and, out of nowhere, a Hassocks’ attacker’s lightning pace created a chance that they put away convincingly to give the home team the lead. This gave them a confidence boost and they started to keep more possession. It was a wonderful turn from the Hassocks forward in front of goal, followed by a blistering shot into the top corner that doubled their lead only minutes later and put a different complexion on the match. Langton kept at it, however. A nice cross from Will found Matt at the far post, but the defenders were too strong for him. Langton were passing the ball around nicely, but simply couldn’t find a way through the sea of red players ahead of them. Sid was looking lively through the centre, and Euan and Jack were surging forward whenever possible. Hassocks always looked dangerous on the counter attack though, and saw another good shot sail narrowly wide. At 0-2 down at half time, Langton had an awful lot to do in the second half.

The whites looked more than equal to the challenge in the second half though. Max was leading the charge on the right, making great runs forward, but also covering well in defence. Will created himself a half chance, but it was well saved. The Hassocks number 36 found himself unmarked in front of an open goal at one point, but luckily for Langton didn’t take his chance. The Hassocks forwards were super fast, but so was Tom, who had to race back several times to make important blocks. It was Max again who sent a lovely cross over from the right to the far post, where Matt had found himself just enough space to finish calmly and with style. At 1-2 there was suddenly everything to play for and plenty of time left to do it. The Hassocks forwards continued to find that extra foot of space and fired another shot just wide. Back at the other end, Sammy found Jack, who forced a good save from the Hassocks keeper. Then the keeper saved again, this time from Toby, who got a second chance on the rebound but couldn’t quite finish it off. The reds’ keeper had to stay focused, as Max forced him to make another good save.

It was a lovely back-heel from Will that sent Jack flying into space at the far post. His shot across goal was a beauty into the far corner – 2-2! The momentum was now with Langton, but Hassocks kept coming and the Langton fans had a heart-in-mouth moment as the reds missed a good opportunity. Connor kept the defence at full strength for Langton, and made some brave runs forward. Confidence was high now for the whites, and it was all hands on deck. This was exciting stuff towards the end, and Langton seemed to have the upper hand, but then a Hassocks’ forward simply out-paced the Langton defence and scored a fine goal out of nowhere. Then the referee blew his whistle and it was all over. A cruel end to this season’s cup run for Langton Green, but the whole team should be proud of their efforts today – everyone played brilliantly, but it simply wasn’t their day.

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Sunday, October 15th

Maidenbower United Black 3 - 3 Langton Green Phoenix(Will 2, Tristan)

Match report by Steve B

Three lovely goals, but Langton overwhelmed at times in Crawley...

It took a few minutes after the whistle blew at the start of this game for the referee to realise that Maidenbower United had 12 outfield players on the pitch, and although this was quickly corrected it felt as though the Crawley side had an extra man for long stretches of this match, so effective was their pressing, energy and organisation. The home team were tough opposition all right, and they enjoyed much of the possession and had more chances to score. Langton Green were lucky not to be at least a couple of goals behind by half time. But Langton showed the better flashes of skill and took nearly every chance they created to give themselves the lead at half time.

It was a slightly earlier start than usual, but a few of the boys in white looked in need of a strong espresso during the first few minutes of this match, with the team looking all at sea at times. The main Phoenix attacking threat was down the right hand side, via Max and Will, who made a great attacking partnership. Max was excellent, making great use of his tremendous pace, strength and superb ball control to retain the ball, win it back, glide past players and send over some delicious crosses and through balls, that led to both of Langton’s first-half goals. Connor looked convincing, sitting in for Tom at centre half, where he put in some crunching tackles and played the ball forward with aplomb. The whole team were very grateful for James from the Giants, who put in an impressive stint between the goalposts, where he was kept busy filling in for Ethan. It was James’ athletic diving save that kept it at 0-0 about 10 minutes in. But Maidenbower were seeing too much of the ball, with Langton lacking composure and not releasing the ball quick enough. It was a beautiful through-ball from Max that found Will in a little space. He still had to muscle his way past a couple of defenders before his came finish, and it was a nice goal. It was Langton’s first shot on goal, but they made it count.

Evan was working hard as usual in the centre of the park, but he was up against some big strong lads. He fearlessly charged down a blue free kick to block another scoring chance for the home team, and his tackling was committed and brave. Langton got better as the half went on. Jack, James and Euan played a nice one-two-three across the pitch and out down the other side and their team started to move the ball around a little better. Maidenbower were giving Langton very little time on the ball, but they still showed a few flashes of skill to outwit the home side. Matt showed some good control on the left , but James was forced to make another diving save, showing his sharp reflexes. But then Maidenbower almost inevitably made a surging run through the centre and slotted the ball just inside the far post to draw level. This woke Langton up, and they moved up into at least second, or possibly third, gear. Max created a couple of chances with lovely cross-field balls from the right, first to Tristan, whose shot was just over, then to Will, who simply ran out of space. But then somehow Max chipped the ball over at least two defenders and it fell to Tristan in the middle of a crowded defence, but with just enough time to shoot. Lovely goal, the whites were back in the lead, which they took into the second half.

Langton were a little quicker and sharper in the second half, although not perhaps so lucky. They were immediately under pressure, but the defence was holding up well, with Euan and Joel gaining confidence as the game went on. Richard, in particular, seemed to grow in stature with every minute, to become an absolute rock in the centre of defence. He made some excellent headers and his timing and commitment were brilliant. Langton’s third goal was a peach. It started with Matt driving forward through the centre, some nice one-touch football between him and Jack before Jack passed it perfectly to Will. It was another well-taken finish from the team’s star striker. At 3-1 up an outsider might think Langton Green were all over this match, but Maidenbower were still the stronger, more industrious outfit and it was perhaps only a matter of time before they started converting their chances. The blues earned themselves an extra yard of space on the edge of the box, but still required a great turn to create the opportunity. It was a good goal, and at 3-2 there was everything to play for. Langton now had their best spell of the match, with captain Tristan leading by example. They upped the tempo, their commitment and their tactics across the team. Joel was working hard at right back and Finn was making the sort of tackles that left an impression. Toby was haring up and down the right flank, and it was his cheeky back-heel that played Evan in from where he chipped it over the defenders to give Tristan a half chance. Langton were moving the ball around now as we know they can, in fast-paced attractive football. But Maidenbower were relentless in their pressure and, having won a little space from a corner, they equalised. The last five minutes were rather harum-scarum and anything could have happened, but in the end a draw was perhaps a fair result. The Phoenix can learn a thing or two from this match.

Coaches note... the last sentence above sums it up - the biys can definitely learn a thing or two from this match. Well done (and thank you) to James for being voted man of the match, along with Richard. Were it not for those two and Connor in the early stages we could have been 3-0 down in the first 10 minutes.

We welcomed new opposition in Ditton to Ashurst on a soggy October 1st for a friendly as everyone else was in action in the Sussex county cup that we couldn't enter because we aren't affiliated with the Sussex FA.

Ditton had the bare 11 players and after scoring first whilst we started poorly (that's quite generous actually, we were largely awful for the first 15 minutes), and were down to 10 when sadly their left-sided attacker had to go off injured and to A&E (we wish him well). We duly reduced our numbers to make the game even and immediately started playing better, finding our feet and our passes, Sammy hitting the post with a long range effort and Connor bossing the midfield with some crunching tackles and clever forward passes. Richard strode forward well after winning the ball and sent Evan away but his shot flashed just wide. A couple of excellent defensive headers from Tom and Richard cleared our lines as Ditton pushed forward looking for a second and we seemed to be under the cosh again, having just looked like we were settling.

All sorted after a quick forward through ball from Finn found Evan, who had plenty to do still, turning and knocking the ball into space ahead of him and sprinting through to finish with aplomb. Goal number 1 with his right foot and this time the boys really did settle into the game, Euan looking confident in possession with one particular forward pass that split the defence beautifully.

I tried to find a picture on my phone of the excellent sand castle I built on Saturday but sadly couldn't. The boys would have loved to see it, I'm sure, but it wasn't to be. Maybe another time. Connor then had to come off injured (hamstring) and as a precaution we decided no point in risking it further, especially for the sake of a friendly). He stayed to watch the rest of the game, which was a nice touch and showed great team spirit.

Shortly afterwards an excellent delivery from Max's corner saw Evan make it 2-1 - goal number two a superb header into the top corner. Will then broke through brilliantly from Evan's pass, but found the goalkeeper standing tall, Toby caused some havoc on the right and Ethan's distribution and speed off his line were superb, but we still looked a bit shabby out of possession, losing our shape in central areas on a number of occasions and being pulled out of position too often, leaving large gaps where there should have been bodies.

Half time and James very kindly got me a cup of tea. The team discussed what we could do more effectively to take advantage of the space on the pitch when we had the ball and negate those same issues from the opposition when we didn't, in the new 10v10 situation we found ourselves in. A new formation, with 3 at the back and an extra midfielder was decided upon and it seemed to do the trick, Will finishing off an excellent team move with a really good finish where 5 or 6 players had touched the ball in quick succession, Sid instrumental in the build up in particular.

Euan, Richard, Tom and Joel took turns in keeping possession well, using Ethan as an option when nothing presented itself forwards. Nice to see. Jack went on a supern run down the left and so nearly scored a super solo goal, before doing it again and then passing to Toby, whose shot flashed just wide. A wonderful solo goal was then scored, this one from Max, where he ran through several challenges before calmly slotting the ball home made it 4-1, Finn then adding the fifth with an accurate, stooping header from Sammy's pinpoint corner.

Ditton then pulled back a well taken finish after Ethan had saved the initial shot well, the looping ball finding its way to a blue shirt in the box, to make it 5-2. Evan then completed his hat trick with a calm left footed finish (the perfect hat trick - right foot, left foot, headed) to increase the lead after good work from Sid (again) in midfield. 6-2.

6-3 after a well struck shot from Ditton, followed by Jack (on up front) staying onside brilliantly and finishing well under the keeper from Will's perfectly weighted pass. Joel went on a super run from right back, skipping past a couple of challenges to then pass to Max, who burst clear and saw his cross just evade Sammy's outstretched foot. Toby trickery down the right, backed up by excellent defensive play to win the ball back, quick feet from Sammy to create a chance he struck cleverly with the outside of his boot but the keeper held on to (just), Max then hitting a long range effort just wide, before Ditton scored again with the last kick of the game to make it 7-4.

A very entertaining game, sadly marred by injuries that everyone would prefer to have avoided, especially in a friendly. We wish the lad who went to A&E well and of course hope we have Connor back and fit ASAP. Thank you to Justin for refereeing, Martin for running the line and to the parents (Debbie and Jenny I believe this week) who helped with the teas and coffees. Well done to Toby, who was awarded MOTM this week for his energetic and skilful display on the right and to Martin for being voted "Supporter of the Week".

A 3G tournament next week over in Haywards Heath. 6 a side, so something a bit different, before we return to league action the following week. Looking forward to it! Hopefully the weather will be kinder than it was to me when marking the lines this morning.

Another new experience for the boys in their first cup game in the Sussex League saw us travel to Crawley, where I grew up, to face an Ifield team who had started impressively in the division below us, scoring 16 goals in their first two league games and boasting a lightning quick striker to go with their team name.

We arrived to the excitement of a very empty field full of nicely mown football pitches populated only by a man with the most impressive remote controlled helicopter I've ever seen. With 40 minutes until kick off, Heli-man was still the only person in the vicinity and we started to wonder if we were in the wrong place. His helicopter was starting to emit a strange blue smoke and opposition players would turn up, go round the side of the club house and just disappear. It was all starting to feel a bit X-Files until we realised that we were in fact in completely the wrong place and the pitch we were playing on was up an alleyway, through a BMX track and behind a hedge. Someone tried to go and get coffee. No joy. Sadly this pitch looked it hadn't seen a mower for a while and had 2 completely different sized goals. Oh well - it was the same for both teams and excuses are for Arsene Wenger, so we got down to business shooting at the larger goal.

It was an excellent opening 15 minutes of football from both teams, Ifield looking pacy and dangerous on the break and Langton probing and pressing with some nice possession football and good use of the wide areas. Both Toby and Max got clear early on from clever passes down the wings only to see their crosses well defended. A clever turn and a good pass from Sammy out to Toby saw him use quick feet to bamboozle a defender before whipping in a dangerous cross that Finn met with a left foot volley that flashed just wide. The tide was turning in our direction and a goal seemed to be coming, Max turning beautifully by stepping over the ball and driving toward goal, his early ball in tipped out for a corner by the goalkeeper.

Several corners, an excellent Evan header that went just over and then the deadlock broken when Toby won a free kick that Sammy lofted into the box for Will to get the deftests of flicked touches onto the ball with his head, sending it past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. 1-0 and deserved for 5 minutes of consistent pressure. Clever finish from Will too.

At the other end our defenders and goalie were keeping possession nicely, Euan and Jack intelligent with their decisions, Jack striding forward to join the attacks as he so often does, with Connor and Evan, our new centre back partnership in the absence of Tom and Richard, doing a marvellous job both on and off the ball. Evan's pace helped us keep the opposition's quick striker at bay and Connor's play with the ball was superb, pushing out from the back with the ball and passing cleverly and concisely. If this was FIFA 2018 then Connor would have finished the game with something like a 98% pass completion stat. Outstanding stuff.

The second goal was one of my favourites so far this season. Tristan won the ball on the right of midfield, switched play all the way out to Toby on the left, whose skill took him past 2 players (or was it the same player twice... I can't remember) before he cut an unselfish pass back to Tristan. His left foot shot was blocked, but the ball came back to him. If at first you don't succeed, try again, so he just smashed it into the back of the net with his right foot. A great finish, great build up and lovely technique. Well done.

The rest of the half passed in a flurry of offsides (hold your runs boys!!!), Toby adjudged to be beyond the last defender at the end of a flowing move where every one of our forward players touched the ball before he stroked home what we thought was the third goal. A shame as it would have been a beauty, but these things happen. Joel showed lovely skill to turn on the right and link well with Max and Sid also got involved despite carrying a bit of an injury to play some of his trademark clever passes and win the ball back well on a number of occasions.

Half time and we discussed (as well as someone getting coffee - still no joy) the dangers we faced in the second half. Ifield were not out of the game and the next goal was crucial. The boys had some ideas as to how we wanted to set up and out they went to implement them. Avoiding the enormous divet in the pitch was key.

Ifield came out strong, as we suspected they would and very nearly created a chance early on, but hadn't reckoned on Ethan's decisiveness off his line, rushing to claim a ball bravely at their pacy striker's feet. The time to mention that despite not having many "saves" to make today, Ethan's play off his line, distribution and communication were all first class - all areas of his game that he continues to improve from week to week.

The third goal came, thankfully for us in the smaller of the two goals that we were now shooting into and it was Toby who scored it (shortly after being ruled offside and having the ball in the net AGAIN and putting another chance just wide after really good play from Tristan and Jack to set him up) with a truly wonderful individual effort. A quick pass from Joel to Sid, Sid to Jack, Jack showing wonderful tenacity to get to it first when he had no right to before his strength shrugged off the defender to find Toby with a reverse pass. Still plenty to do, Toby skipped through 2 challenges and absolutely leathered the ball into the back of the net for his first goal of the season. Thoroughly deserved for all his hard work today.

From then on it was a case of whether the boys could manage the game well. No team should throw away a 3-0 lead, but last week at times it seemed like we were trying our best. None of that this week, the pressure stayed on, Evan and Connor mopping up when necessary and both striding forward at times, ably covered by either Finn or Tristan unselfishly dropping in to fill the gap. New full backs Joel and Euan continued to keep possession fantastically, Euan at one point playing a super one-two with Sid and then pinging a beauty of a pass in to Max's feet and Joel getting forward to support the attackers well. Max put on the afterburners, skipped past a couple of tackles and slid a pass to Will. He strode forward, shot well, saved well, only for Sammy to be exactly where he so often is to smash home the rebound with a looping finish. He's scored in every one of the first three games but his all round play has been excellent throughout too.

The last 10 minutes saw a great piece of defending from Euan to deny a certain chance, a cracking moment that saw Evan pick the ball up on the edge of his own box, run the length of the pitch with it before passing to Will. We were then treated to Finn pulling off an outrageous piece of skill from an aerial ball (not sure if it has a name but it was a sort of volleyed backheel-Cruyff-turn thingy), Toby nearly scoring another, Will nearly scoring another, Sammy nearly scoring another, Jack running a full 40 yards to win the ball back despite being 4-0 up (my favourite moment of the match) and throughout all that the football was intelligent, calm and full of effort. Finn got rugby tackled. Twice. Tristan was tripped up and Sammy whipped another free kick in that was scrambled away.

The fifth goal was Toby down the right showing more superb skill, pace and trickery to put a cross in for Tristan to slam home from close range with a well-taken volley before he got his hat trick after Finn strode down the right wing in a great impression of Toby, cut inside and struck an excellent long range effort with too much power for the goalkeeper to hold, Tristan lurking to finish the move off. The whistle blew and that was that - through to round 2 where we'll face a team from the division above - should be a great test for the boys and one we look forward to.

Well done to Evan, who won the man of the match award for his faultless performance at centre back, a position he doesn't usually play in. Thank you to Martin for once again running the line. Exemplory performance with flag in hand as usual. And well done to Gracie, who was voted supporter of the week by Evan. All good stuff. A friendly next week at home (just the short trip to Ashurst)... should be fun!

This season was supposed to be all about venturing further afield in search of tougher and more varied opposition. So today the under-14s travelled down to sunny Brighton, where they met some tricky opponents in the form of Withdean Youth on their 3-G pitch. The Brighton lads are an accomplished, tenacious and well-organised team and Langton were forced to pull out all the stops today, working hard and playing some stylish football. The teamwork was excellent, and the balance across the team is illustrated by five different names on the scoresheet for the second week running.

Withdean put Langton under pressure from the off, chasing down every ball and giving the whites no time or space on the ball. Langton were patient, playing the ball out from goal (and often back again) nicely, but rarely got out of their half during the opening spell. Withdean were closing them down quickly and Langton couldn’t string many passes together. But Connor had an excellent game at right back, playing with skill and vision. He sent a good early ball forward to Max, but even his electric pace couldn’t quite get him to the ball before the reds’ keeper, who was outstanding, making numerous important saves throughout the game. But Withdean had the upper hand very early on, and sent an absolute scorcher heading towards the top corner of Ethan’s goal, forcing him to make a terrific diving save.

Withdean had much of the early possession, but thanks to the solid defending and focus of the back four of Joel, Richard, Tom and Connor, that was about the only decent shot they had on goal in the first half. About 10 minutes in, Langton started to get into their rhythm in all departments and build some momentum. Finn sent a long range effort just skimming over the crossbar. Evan sent Max scooting down the right wing, from where he put in a lovely cross for Sammy, the keeper just parrying the ball wide, to where Tristan was lurking ready to poke the ball home and give his team the lead. Max continued to be the biggest threat to the Withdean defence, who couldn’t match his speed or strength, and his whole team started to find a little more space and time, courtesy of quick feet and equally quick thinking.

At the back, Joel was keeping close tabs on the Withdean attack, and Tom moved effortless across to both left and right as required from his central spot. Langton were now matching Withdean for physicality and determination, with Finn and Sammy in particular working doggedly to break up any opposition attacks. Relative newcomer Connor looked as confident as if he’d played in this team his whole career, making numerous good tackles and clever forward passes. Soon after coming on, Matt played a clever pass from the left to Will, from where his cross met the on-rushing Max for a classy finish – good goal. Langton were starting to impose themselves on this game now. Matt started to pull a few strings from central areas and his long-range shot forced Withdean’s keeper to make another good diving save to prevent Langton going three up. Langton’s confidence was growing by the minute, with Finn and Tristan showing nice skills in the middle as their team put together some nice passing moves.

Euan was on at left back, making his presence felt with a couple of courageous tackles and tireless defender tracking. Evan made several incisive long passes forward to Max and Sammy to chase, but more often than not it was the Withdean keeper that got in the way. Evan also had a good shot of his own saved by the ever alert keeper. With the score 2-0 at half-time Langton could be proud of their achievements and looked comfortable.

Langton started the second half with equally high commitment levels, tracking back, winning balls, denying the opposition space, and creating some fluid passing movements. Tristan launched a cracking volley at the Withdean goal, but guess-who got in the way again. The whites switched play beautifully again from left to right, this time sending Will charging down the right wing and this time it was Sammy well placed in the centre to send a scorcher that even the reds’ keeper couldn’t stop into the top corner – 3-0.

Langton took their foot off the gas a little at this point, allowing Withdean slightly more possession and time. Almost inevitably, one of their big strong forwards got the opportunity to out-muscle the Langton defence and pull one back for his team and add a different complexion to the game. Langton had to step up the pace again. Sammy and Tristan were showing the way with their excellent work rates and determination. A great long free kick from Evan found Will dashing towards the goal, and Max skipped over a couple of defenders to give Will a chance with the outside of his boot, but the Withdean keeper simply kept getting in the way!

Withdean sensed their opportunity to turn things around at this stage though, and it was only Ethan’s athleticism and fingertips that prevented a 3-2 scoreline, which may have changed the course of the rest of the match. Then a Langton attack actually had the keeper beaten, only for one of their defenders to clear off the line. Toby’s pace on the right wing had been causing problems for the Withdean defence, and it was his throw in to Evan, combined with Evan's quick footwork that won his team the fourth goal and took them to safety. Soon after, Evan won the ball in his own half and powered forward through the opposition for 20 or 30 yards before laying it off for Will. Rather than giving him another chance to make a diving save, Will dribbled around the keeper with style before netting the fifth goal for his team.

This was a great result against stiff opposition, but the boys worked incredibly hard for this result, playing some lovely football, and it was thoroughly deserved. Well done to the whole team.

And a special well done to Kate, who was voted supporter of the match by Sammy for her continued enthusiasm and encouragement from the touch line. Congratulations to a vitally important member of the support team!

So, here we go again, back for a new season in a new division, a new league and with new opposition. We welcomed Cuckfield Cosmos to sunny Groombridge, a thoroughly nice bunch of folks who played some good football with a great attitude. Furthermore, we welcomed Connor to the team for his first competitive game with us, whilst saying goodbye to Owen, playing his final match for the team prior to stepping up to play Kent Youth League football with our Giants team. Teas and coffees were served up by the parents (thanks Julian for buying the supplies and Anna for organising the rota) and the grass was freshly cut by yours truly (and Justin) with an old fashioned push mower, that was surprisingly meditative to use. I worked out that doing the whole pitch involved 22km of walking, so we just focused on the worst areas!!!

Onto the football...

A great start, captain Tristan energetic from the off, combining nicely with Sid before debutant Connor stepped up from right back to play a lovely forward pass into Max's path. Quick feet, a crossfield ball into space and Jack ran onto it superbly to knock the ball goalwards, the goalkeeper (who was excellent by the way) parrying only for Evan to follow up and tuck the rebound away inside the first couple of minutes.

The next 10 minutes were disappointing, Cuckfield making it hard for us to play and being unfortunate not to score an equaliser on two occasions, before we finally cleared our lines, Evan's clever pass cutting the opposition defence open for Sammy to cleverly flick the ball on to Max to stride onto and tuck an emphatic finish into the corner to make it 2-0. Great play on the counter attack, but we felt very fortunate to be two goals to the good so early on.

Richard and Tom started to distribute the ball from the back nicely, Ethan communicating brilliantly behind them, organising his defence and giving good instructions, with Euan and Richard combining well in one particularly nice spell of passing out from the back to set Jack free in his more advanced left wing role. His pass found Tristan in a great position, but the Cuckfield goalkeeper pulled off the first of a number of excellent saves he made over the course of the match. We were thankful to Tom, twice, for last ditch tackles that denied Cuckfield outright chances, but they were threatening going forward and our lead was a fragile one.

Cue some changes, Finn, Owen, Will and Toby joining the action and all immediately involved. Toby's quick run down the left and cutback pass in to Owen setting him free to smash home an absolute belter of a strike that nearly broke the net to make it 3-0. Great for him to get a goal on his final appearance for the team. The other two substitutes then combined brilliantly, Finn showing great vision to play the ball in between two defenders and set Will free through the middle. Will's thunderbolt of a shot deserved a goal for its ferocity alone, but the opposition goalkeeper was again equal to the shot, only to find Sammy following up brilliantly to put the rebound in the back of the net.

Half time and we felt we'd played well, especially as the half wore on, but were very aware of the threat Cuckfield posed and that they'd come out all guns blazing, which they did. A 15 minute spell where we struggled to get hold of the ball properly saw Cuckfield hit the bar and the post, Euan made a particularly good tackle to deny a certain shot and we were generally up against it, before we gave away a free kick in a dangerous area that Ethan did well to save before the opposition striker tucked away the follow up from close range. A reminder, specifically that when you take your foot off the gas and are second to the majority of 50/50 balls, you are liable to be punished.

Thankfully the boys improved enormously in the final 15-20 minutes of the game, Sid showing wonderful vision from midfield to set both Evan and Tristan through on goal, Tristan very unlucky not to score on two occasions when some really positive dribbling saw him weave his way into the box. Toby was lively, one particular run ending in a great bit of skill to set himself up for a strike that shaved the post. Jack was up and down the left hand side, providing a great attacking option going forward and tracking back superbly to deny Cuckfield on the break on several occasions. Solid hands from Ethan from a high shot and quick, clever distribution sent Max away down the left. His pace and strength saw him get into a wonderful position where he unselfishly squared the ball for Sammy to stroke a superb finish into the roof of the net for his second goal of the game.

One particularly pleasing aspect of the second half was Connor's accomplished performance in central midfield, a position he's not used to playing but that he filled with aplomb, breaking up play nicely and using the ball with intelligence. It was from his simple pass that Finn collected the ball on the right of midfield and seeing the 'keeper just off his line, struck and absolute worldy of a shot from fully 30 yards out that dipped under the crossbar to make the score 6-1. Pleased for Finn after his participation was in doubt with knee problems, which he overcame to play an important role today.

It just remained for the boys to see out the last 7 or 8 minutes, lit up by a wonderful run and chipped shot from Max that just snuck wide and a great effort from Tristan that was deflected into the goalkeeper's hands. Owen's final act for the Phoenix was to stride out of defence through several challenges, play a lovely one-two with Connor and get himself through to unselfishly pass to Evan, whose shot was deflected behind. Finn's header from the ensuing corner nearly crept in, before the final whistle went to signal the end of a very enjoyable game of football. Cuckfield played some excellent football and on another day, the result could have been very different had 2 or 3 early chances gone our opposition's way. We very much look forward to the return match later in the season.

A big thank you to those who provided tea and coffee, to Martin for running the line and to Justin for another fantastic refereeing performance. It was just left for Owen to say his goodbyes with a very generous gift of chocolate and beer (chocolate for the boys, the beer for the coaches of course!) and for us to award Connor the man of the match award for a fantastic performance throughout.

Well done all - a great performance and a good start to the season. Away to Withdean next week... looking forward to it!